Ukraine should be free to hit military targets in Russia - Rinkevics

  • 2022-11-30
  • LETA/BLOOMBERG/TBT Staff

BUCHAREST - Ukraine should be free to strike military sites inside Russia as it fends off attacks on its critical infrastructure, Latvia’s foreign minister said.

“We should allow Ukrainians to use weapons to target missile sites or air fields from where those operations are being launched,” Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said Tuesday in an interview on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Bucharest. 

Allies “should not fear” escalation, he added.

However, allies including the US have held back on sending weapons that can strike Russia, Bloomberg writes.

NATO countries are refraining from supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles for the time being, so Ukraine only strikes Russia's border areas and Russian-annexed territories.

NATO countries supply Ukraine with artillery equipment and the so-called smart projectiles of this equipment, multiple warhead rocket systems and anti-ship missiles. Their operating range usually does not exceed 100-120 kilometers.

However, the countries of the alliance have so far refrained from supplying tactical missiles or missile complexes with a range of up to 300 kilometers, and have also refrained from supplying strike aircraft and fighter jets.

The global media, citing sources, say that the United States is worried about further escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war if such weapons systems are supplied to Ukraine.

However, as stated by Rinkevics, other NATO countries believe that Ukraine should not have restrictions regarding the choice of targets, Radio Liberty reports.