Ukraine’s most powerful allies have lifted restrictions on long-range weapons they’ve sent to the beleaguered country, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Monday. The move, following Russia’s intensified drone and missile campaign in Ukraine, gives Kiev the greenlight to strike deep inside Russian territory.

“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine—neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans,” Merz said. “This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia… With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”

The policy change raises the specter of Russian nuclear retaliation. Last November, after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to strike Russia with U.S.-provided long-range weapons, Moscow revised its nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for nuclear use. In addition, the updated doctrine declared that a conventional attack by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power would be considered a joint attack on Russia. 

The same month, Russia fired a multiple-warhead, nuclear-capable ballistic missile at Ukraine—the first-ever use of such a weapon in combat.

Responding Monday to Merz’s announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cast doubt on whether Western nations had actually changed their policy. “If such decisions have indeed been made, they are entirely at odds with our aspirations for a political resolution and with the efforts currently being made toward a settlement,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin says that Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons against Russia makes the West a direct participant in the Russia-Ukraine war, since such attacks require targeting assistance from NATO nations.

The Monday development comes on the heels of harsh statements by President Donald Trump directed against Putin, whom analysts say is delaying a resolution of the Ukraine war. Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social, “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Earlier that day, Trump told reporters, “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin.”

In response, Peskov expressed gratitude to the U.S. for launching peace talks and attributed Trump’s harsh comments to “emotional overload.”

The post Ukraine’s Western Allies Greenlight Long-Range Strikes on Russia appeared first on The American Conservative.