Germany still says 'no' to long-range missiles for Ukraine

(CLO) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that despite changes from the US, Germany will not send its Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine at the present time.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to reports about the US ending restrictions on supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine with a short statement: "The missiles will speak for themselves."

Germany has yet to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine and says it has no current plans. Photo: Joerg Carstensen/PA

Currently, the US government has not made any official statement on this issue, but major Western media outlets have reported on this, after quoting military officials in Washington.

Speaking at the G20 Summit in Brazil, Mr. Biden also hinted at this decision when calling on other leaders to support Ukraine's " sovereignty ."

"The United States strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. In my view, everyone around this table should do the same," Biden said at the meeting.

Top Russian officials have also responded to reports that the US has approved Ukraine's long-range missile attack on Russian territory.

Specifically, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, and Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova all spoke out against the above decision.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, First Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Upper House of Parliament, even warned that the US lifting of the ban on supplying long-range missiles could lead to "the risk of World War III".

"Those who support US President [Joe] Biden's decision are those who support starting World War III," said Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.

In addition, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the US decision could expand the Ukrainian crisis to a global scale.

Meanwhile, Western media reported that in addition to the US, both France and the UK currently support the US decision to allow Ukraine to launch long-range missiles produced by them into Russian territory, and may follow suit.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for the US decision. "This is an absolutely correct decision," he said at the G20 summit in Brazil.

Mr Macron stressed that the decision was made after North Korea was said to have sent troops to support Russia. He called it a "serious escalation by Moscow that cannot be taken lightly".

The US policy change is believed to be in response to North Korea's support for Russia, which Mr Macron described as "a sudden change in the war situation".

Hong Hanh (according to DW, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/duc-noi-khong-voi-ten-lua-tam-xa-cho-ukraine-va-phan-ung-cua-cac-ben-post321940.html