Ukraine has the right to strike on Russian territory if it qualifies as self-defense, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told Deutsche Welle on May 31. Independent Kyiv.
The statement was made a day after a drone attack on Moscow damaged several high-rise buildings. Russia accuses Ukraine of orchestrating the attack, but Ukrainian officials deny responsibility.
That morning, Russia launched another drone strike on Kyiv, targeting the capital for the 17th time in May. One person died, at least 13 others were injured.
According to Gebestreit, “international law allows Ukraine to carry out strikes on the territory of Russia for the purpose of self-defense.”
Western officials reacted ambiguously to drone strikes on Russian territory.
During a May 30 press conference, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley acknowledged that Ukraine has a “legitimate right (to defend) within its borders, but it also has the right to send force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to send force into Ukraine .”
White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said the Biden administration “informally and publicly made clear to Ukrainians that we do not support attacks on Russian soil.”
“We will continue to provide them with what they need to defend themselves and defend their territory, Ukrainian soil, but we do not support attacks on Russia,” Kirby told CNN.
“We agree that Ukrainians have the right to self-defense — my God, for the past 15 months we have done nothing but help them defend themselves and defend their territory from this Russian aggression. We said that we do not want to encourage or allow attacks inside Russia because we do not want to see an escalation of the war beyond the violence that has already been inflicted on the Ukrainian people.”
In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ravaging cities, forcing millions from their homes, and killing thousands.
Moscow calls the war a “special military operation” to “denazify” Ukraine and protect Russian speakers. Kyiv and its allies say that this is an unprovoked seizure of territories.
Source: Hot News
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