Berlin

The German government has authorised Ukraine to use German-supplied weapons against military targets in Russia, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced on Friday in Berlin. Ukraine has pressed supporters in recent weeks for permission to use weapons supplied by the West to strike Russian forces on Russian territory. Several other countries, including the US, have recently made similar moves to give Ukraine more leeway in its use of Western-supplied weapons.

Many Western countries put conditions on military aid packages that limited Ukraine to use those weapons only in Ukrainian territory. Those conditions were intended to avoid escalation with Russia and prevent Ukraine’s allies from being drawn directly into the conflict. But Ukraine has contended recently that Russian forces are exploiting those limitations to mass troops near the border and stage attacks against Ukrainian territory.