“We are also working with other partners on this,” Baerbock said, adding that the Ukrainians are in an “extremely difficult situation.”
Germany is now Ukraine’s second-biggest arms supplier, after the Americans, but Scholz has balked at giving Ukraine Taurus missiles, fearing that to do so would draw Germany deeper into the war. The U.S. has also placed restrictions on weapons it supplies, telling Kyiv they must not be used to strike inside Russia.
Ukrainian leaders have long chafed at the prohibition imposed by allies on using Western-supplied weapons to strike across Russian borders. In a recent interview with POLITICO, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he felt the West has been requiring Ukraine to fight with one hand tied behind its back because of the strings that come attached to military aid.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged Friday that Russian forces have advanced in one area in Kharkiv oblast but assured Ukrainians the situation was stabilizing. “Today, our defense forces have stabilized the Russians where they are now,” he said.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said: “Russia has not stopped terrorizing our people for a single week in more than two years of this war. Russia tries to expand the war while consistently making empty statements about peace. We must use all available means to force Russia to make a real and just peace. Our defense against Russian assaults and strikes is critical in this regard.”
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said his troops are readying for a possible Russian offensive on the neighboring oblast of Sumy, 300 kilometers northeast of Kyiv, in a likely bid to force Ukraine to divert troops.
