France signals authorizing Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against Russia
- 19 November, 08:25
France on Monday signaled it allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles in attacks deep into Russia. France along with the US and UK have provided Ukraine with these missiles but for months banned these missiles’ use in strikes on Russian soil.
"We openly said that this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike targets from where Russians are currently aggressing Ukrainian territory," France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters in Brussels on Monday. Barrot reminded President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks made in May about his government considering greenlighting Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles in Russia.
The remarks by French Foreign Minister follow Joe Biden’s decision on Sunday to remove limits on Ukraine’s use of the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, missiles in attacks deep into Russia, in a significant shift in Washington’s policy in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zeleneskiy has long been urging its Western allies to lift the limit on the usage of long-range missiles.
Biden’s decision sparked fury in Russia, with Kremlin accusing Washington of fuelling the conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov reminded Vladimir Putin’s earlier statement that Western countries’ approval of the use of these missiles would mean “the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine”.
