Merz: UK, France, Germany, US lift range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine

Germany has joined the United Kingdom, France and the United States in lifting restrictions on the range of weapons provided to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said.

Speaking during a panel discussion at a forum, Merz confirmed that there are now no limits on how far the supplied weapons can strike, Caliber.Az reports per German media.

“There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine — not from the British, not from the French, not from us. Nor from the Americans,” Merz said.

He added that the decision means Ukraine is now able to defend itself by targeting military infrastructure within Russia.

To recall, Western nations had imposed range restrictions on the weapons they supplied to Ukraine during its conflict with Russia. These limitations were aimed at preventing escalation and avoiding direct NATO involvement. The United States, for instance, allowed Ukraine to use its long-range ATACMS missiles only within Ukrainian territory. Similarly, the United Kingdom permitted the use of most donated weapons inside Russia but restricted Storm Shadow cruise missiles to use solely within Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had repeatedly urged Western allies to lift such constraints, arguing that they prevented Ukraine from striking Russian missile launch sites, which continued to target Ukrainian cities.

Military experts had also noted that these restrictions undermined Ukraine’s ability to defend itself effectively, particularly by reducing the strategic value of systems such as the F-16 fighter jets, which required the capacity to hit targets beyond the frontlines.

Despite growing support among some NATO officials for easing these rules, the alliance remained divided. Concerns about provoking a direct confrontation with Russia had kept most range limitations in place, even as pressure mounted from Kyiv to allow full operational use of Western-supplied weaponry.

By Aghakazim Guliyev