The Daily Populous Wednesday May 29th, 2024 morning edition
Authored by barrons.com and submitted by riwnodennyk

Kyiv should be allowed to "neutralise" Russian military bases used to fire missiles into Ukraine, France's President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday.

"We think that we should allow them to neutralise military sites where missiles are fired, from where Ukraine is attacked," said Macron.

He stressed however that "we should not allow them to touch other targets in Russia, and obviously civilian capacities".

His comments -- on a state visit to Germany, during a press conference alongside Chancellor Olaf Scholz -- come as calls grow to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia using Western-supplied longer-range weapons.

But the issue has divided Kyiv's allies.

Germany has been reluctant to permit Ukraine to strike over the border, fearing it could lead to a direct conflict with nuclear-armed Moscow.

After Macron's comments Tuesday, Scholz said there were rules for using weapons supplied to Ukraine, and that this "must always be within the framework of international law".

He also noted that Germany and France had "provided different weapons".

The United States, Ukraine's biggest supplier of military aid, has also been reluctant to allow Kyiv to strike inside Russia.

Macron's more strident tone towards Russia has been a source of tension in his relationship with Scholz in recent times -- Berlin was taken aback by his recent refusal to rule out sending troops to Ukraine.

On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin warned of "serious consequences" if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russia.

The Kremlin has also gloated over the persisting differences in the West.

"We see that there is no consensus on this issue in the Western camp," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian daily Izvestia on Tuesday.

Zelensky has labelled the Western restrictions on the use of weapons as "unfair", at a time Ukraine is struggling to hold back a Russian ground offensive in the Kharkiv region.

The Ukrainian leader has been on a whistlestop tour of European capitals to rally support, and Macron announced Tuesday that Zelensky will attend a ceremony next week in France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, were Allied troops' first step to freeing western Europe from Nazi German occupation.

The president refused to be drawn on the possibility of France sending military instructors to Ukraine, after Ukraine's top commander said discussions on the matter were ongoing.

Following recent tensions, Macron and Scholz sought to present a united front at their joint press conference in Meseberg, outside Berlin, insisting they agreed on a range of issues.

The French leader said both countries wanted to created a "European savings product" to mobilise private capital and boost growth.

At present, a lack of suitable investments meant that huge sums were leaving Europe to be invested in the United States, said Macron.

There were however no new immediate announcements in terms of support for Ukraine.

WhynotZoidberg9 on May 28th, 2024 at 18:17 UTC »

There should be zero restrictions on weapons used by Ukraine. Moscow gets to hit Kyiv regularly. Kyiv should be able to hit Moscow and anywhere else they need to, to get Russia back on yheor side of the border.

Dreadedvegas on May 28th, 2024 at 18:13 UTC »

Its a god damn war. Let Ukraine hit Russia. Its ridiculous that they can’t hit airfields that are constantly hitting them, logistics yards that are supplying troops at the front

This policy is insane

AnyPiccolo2443 on May 28th, 2024 at 18:11 UTC »

How do people really expect ukriane to get anywhere if they can't hit russian targets in russia with real weapons