Western countries should let Ukraine strike military bases inside Russia with the sophisticated long-range weapons they are providing to Kyiv, French President Emmanuel Macron said, pressuring his allies in the most recent sign of a potentially significant policy shift that could help change the complexion of the war.
The question of whether to allow Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil with Western-supplied weaponry has been a delicate issue since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
Western leaders have mostly shrunk from taking the step because it runs the risk of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly warned that the West’s direct involvement could put the world on a path to nuclear conflict.
But the war has been going Russia’s way recently as the Kremlin’s forces have exploited Ukrainian shortages in troops and ammunition after a lengthy delay in U.S. military aid and Western Europe‘s inadequate military production slowed crucial deliveries to the battlefield.
Russian missiles and bombs have smashed into Ukrainian military positions and civilian areas, including the power grid. Kyiv is facing its hardest test of the war, and untying its hands on long-range weapons could spur a fightback and upset the Kremlin.
Macron said France’s position is that “we think we must allow (Ukraine) to neutralize the (Russian) military sites from which the missiles are fired.”
“If…
