German vice-chancellor denies change in restrictions on long-range strikes for Ukraine

German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has stated that there have been no new agreements within the government coalition regarding a change of course on lifting restrictions on long-range strikes by Ukraine against Russian territory.

As reported by German news channel ntv, Klingbeil, a member of the Social Democratic Party, denied that there had been a change of course concerning the firing range limitations on weapons supplied from Germany to Ukraine.

"Regarding the range, I want to say again that there are no new agreements going beyond what the previous government did," he said in response to a question during a press conference in Berlin.

Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also from the Social Democrats, opposed the idea that Ukraine could conduct long-range strikes on Russian territory.

Current Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative CDU party, stated on 26 May that there are no longer "any restrictions" on long-range strikes using weapons supplied to Ukraine by the UK, France, Germany and the US. 

However, it is unclear whether Merz’s statements contain new information or if he is referring to previously known cases from autumn 2024 of Western missiles being used against Russian territory.

Merz said that the lifting of range restrictions was the subject of his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a joint visit to Kyiv two weeks ago.

In the past, Merz has expressed support for supplying Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, but he has made no comments regarding possible deliveries of these missiles to Kyiv since coming to power in early May.

Meanwhile, Merz’s government has decided to limit public information about which weapon systems it will supply to Ukraine.