Germany's Merz Greenlights Ukraine To Strike Russia
Wir werden alles tun, was in unseren Kräften steht, um die Ukraine weiter zu unterstützen. Das bedeutet auch keinerlei Reichweitenbeschränkungen mehr für Waffen, die wir liefern. Die Ukraine kann sich jetzt auch verteidigen, indem sie militärische Stellungen in Russland angreift. — Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (@bundeskanzler) May 26, 2025
Previously, Kyiv was permitted to use these weapons only against Russian forces in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Speaking at the 'WDR Europaforum 2025' at the re:publica digital conference in Berlin, Merz stated, 'There are no longer any range restrictions for weapons that have been delivered to Ukraine, neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, nor by the Americans.'
Two years ago, Remix News ran a video from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, outlining how the conflict started with countries sending helmets and then tanks to illustrate how deeply the West was involving itself in the war.
The conflict appears to only be escalating more and more since Orbán issued his warning.
As the war has progressed, nations like Great Britain and France supplied advanced weapons systems, including Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles. Germany has been debating the delivery of its Taurus cruise missiles, which have a 500-kilometer range, a move Moscow has warned would make Germany a direct party to the conflict.
Merz did not explicitly mention Taurus missiles in his statement, but his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, refused to provide Ukraine with such weapons, fearing a sharp escalation of the war.
This policy change comes against a backdrop of continued Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and stalled peace efforts. While Merz emphasized that Ukraine does not target civilian areas — and should maintain that distinction — he stressed that a country unable to retaliate within the aggressor's territory cannot adequately defend itself.
Notably, polling on the topic of Taurus missiles has consistently shown that a majority of Germans reject sending the missile to Ukraine.
However, it appears that Western countries are already actively targeting Russian forces. Reports from November indicated that Ukraine had already used long-range ATACMS missiles from the U.S. and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles against military targets in Russia.
Merz also cautioned that the West must prepare for a prolonged war, even as diplomatic channels remain open. He suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin views Western offers of dialogue as a sign of weakness, asserting that 'Nobody can now seriously blame us for not having exhausted all the diplomatic means that exist.'
At the same time, President Donald Trump has reportedly become increasingly disillusioned with Putin following Russia's recent attacks on Ukraine. Trump recently launched an unusually sharp criticism of Putin on his Truth Social platform, describing the Kremlin chief as 'absolutely crazy.'
Read more here…
Also read: 1 In 4 People In Germany Now Has Migrant Background, Data Shows
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Tribune
2 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Russian drone strikes hit peak
July's record drone attacks kill 31 in Kyiv, as international outrage mounts and new air defences promised • EU slams Russia's 'depraved' tactics • Zelensky urges global pressure, air defenses • Germany to send more Patriot systems • Trump threatens new Russia sanctions Russia fired a record number of drones at Ukraine in July, an analysis showed yesterday, intensifying its deadly bombardment of the country despite US pressure to stop the war. Russian attacks have killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians since June. A combined missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Thursday killed 31 people, including five children, said rescuers. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said yesterday that he wanted peace but that his demands for ending the nearly three-and-a-half year invasion were 'unchanged'. Those demands include that Ukraine withdraw from territory it already controls and drop its NATO ambitions forever. 'We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries,' Putin said. Flowers for the Children In Kyiv, residents held a day of mourning for the 31 killed on Thursday, most of whom were in a nine-storey apartment block torn open by a missile. Journalists at the scene yesterday saw rescue workers pulling bodies from the debris. Iryna Drozd, a 28-year-old mother-of-three, was laying flowers at the site to commemorate the five children killed. The youngest, whose lifeless body was found early yesterday, was two years old. 'These are flowers because children died. We brought flowers because we have children. Our children live across the street from here,' she said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who announced rescue operations had ended yesterday, said later that only Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders. 'The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness,' he wrote on X. "This despicable attack by Russia shows that additional pressure and sanctions on Moscow are necessary. This can only be stopped together: America, Europe, and other global actors." — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 'We Can Wait' Putin made no mention of a possible meeting with Zelensky in his comments to reporters yesterday, and suggested Kyiv was not ready for further negotiations. 'We can wait if the Ukrainian leadership believes that now is not the time,' he said. He added that Russian troops were advancing 'along the entire front line', and that Moscow had started mass producing 'Oreshnik' — a nuclear-capable, hypersonic missile first fired on Ukraine last year. The Kremlin has consistently rejected a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying in July it saw no immediate diplomatic way out of its nearly three-and-a-half year invasion. US President Donald Trump on Thursday condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine, suggesting that new sanctions against Moscow were coming.
Gulf Insider
a day ago
- Gulf Insider
Declassified Documents Confirm Hillary Clinton Plan
On Thursday, newly declassified documents reveal that not only did the CIA believe a Russian intelligence assessment that the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign planned to smear Donald Trump by linking him to the Kremlin, it's clear that the FBI helped the Clinton campaign orchestrate the Russia hoax to distract from its investigation into her emails. To review: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard earlier this month declassified several documents – including a 2020 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) report and other intelligence communications revealing that the Obama administration 'manufactured and politicized intelligence' to create a false narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. – including a 2020 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) report and other intelligence communications revealing that that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton. Gabbard's releases highlight the inclusion of the Steele dossier – an unverified report funded by the Clinton campaign alleging ties between Trump and Russia – in the 2017 ICA as an annex. The hoax dossier was used to bolster the Russian interference narrative, despite CIA objections and its discredited status. The HPSCI report states that Brennan insisted on referencing the dossier, even though senior CIA officers warned it was flawed , with Brennan allegedly saying, 'doesn't it ring true? The HPSCI report states that , with Brennan allegedly saying, 'doesn't it ring true? Gabbard has called these actions a 'treasonous conspiracy' led by Obama, Brennan, Clapper, James Comey, Susan Rice, and others, aimed at undermining Trump's presidency. She has referred the documents to the Justice Department and FBI for investigation into potential criminal implications. And now we have the Durham annex… which includes a 2016 memorandum alleging that Russian intelligence knew of a Clinton campaign plan to tie Trump to Russian hackers. This memo claims the plan was designed to 'distract the [American] public from the Clinton email server scandal.' Gabbard's HPSCI report similarly references Russian intelligence claiming Clinton's campaign discussed linking Putin to Trump. Clinton's Approval of Smear Campaign : Pages 4 and 5 of the annex, highlighted in X posts, contain a 2016 memorandum alleging that Clinton personally approved a plan on July 26, 2016, to frame Trump with Russian hacking claims. The memo suggests this was to distract from her email scandal, with coordination involving DNC leadership and outside groups. : Pages 4 and 5 of the annex, highlighted in X posts, contain a 2016 memorandum alleging that Clinton personally approved a plan on July 26, 2016, to frame Trump with Russian hacking claims. The memo suggests this was to distract from her email scandal, with coordination involving DNC leadership and outside groups. Russian Intelligence Awareness : The annex confirms that Russian intelligence was aware of this plan, which aligns with Gabbard's claim that the FBI and CIA had access to this information but pursued the Trump-Russia narrative anyway. : The annex confirms that Russian intelligence was aware of this plan, which aligns with Gabbard's claim that the FBI and CIA had access to this information but pursued the Trump-Russia narrative anyway. No New Criminal Charges: Despite these allegations, Durham's broader investigation (2019–2023) found no evidence of a criminal conspiracy among Obama officials to fabricate intelligence. He criticized the FBI's handling of the Steele dossier and Crossfire Hurricane but did not charge Brennan, Clapper, or others named by Gabbard. As ZH regular TechnoFog notes; To briefly summarize, the Classified Appendix provided further information about the matters covered in parts of Durham's report – specifically, those relating to Hillary Clinton's plan to link Trump and Russia; the threat of foreign influence by a foreign government; and the Carter Page FISA application renewals. But the most material information covers the Clinton Plan, and provides further details on how that plan started, efforts by Clinton and her team to influence officials within the Obama Administration, and how the Clinton Campaign would use Crowdstrike to further their theory that the Russians hacked and leaked information from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). The Smoking Gun(s)… 🚨SMOKING GUN: The declassified Durham Annex confirms Hillary Clinton personally approved the plan to frame Trump with Russian hacking US election claims — to 'distract from her missing emails' and 'demonize Trump.''Later, the FBI will put more oil on the fire.' — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 31, 2025 And as Michael Shellenberger notes, the CIA believed Russian memos mentioning a Clinton plan to smear Trump as a Russian asset: 'The CIA prepared a written assessment of the authenticity and veracity of the above-mentioned intelligence. The CIA stated that it did not assess that the above [redacted] memoranda or [redacted] hacked U.S. communications, to be the product of Russian fabrications.' The newly declassified appendix to the Durham report is game-changing. It showed that the CIA believed Russian intelligence memos, which analyzed hacked emails and alleged a Clinton Plan to vilify Trump by linking him to Russia, were credible. "The CIA prepared a written… — Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) July 31, 2025 What's more, other memos reveal that the plan was to have Crowdstrike and 'ThreatConnect' spin narratives to the media in the absence of actual evidence of Trump-Russia collusion. Regarding proving-up the DNC/DCCC hack and leak – "In absence of direct evidence, Crowdstrike and ThreatConnect will supply the media" with will feed the info to the FBI and then the info "would then be disseminated through leading US publications." — Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 31, 2025 Stay tuned, things are getting spicier… Also read: Trump Could Pull Up To 30% Of US Troops Currently In Europe
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Ukraine Denies Russian Claims of Capturing Chasiv Yar
The Ukrainian army has rejected Russia's claim that its forces have captured the eastern city of Chasiv Yar, calling the announcement false. Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group, said reports from Russia's Ministry of Defence should not be trusted. 'I always advise not to consider the Russian Ministry of Defence as a source of information. They lie systematically, and responding to each of their claims is misleading,' Tregubov told local media. Chasiv Yar, located near the frontline in eastern Ukraine, has been a key target in recent battles, but Ukrainian officials say their troops are still holding their positions.
