Germany's chancellorsaid Monday thathis governmentwill lift all range restrictions onweapons it sends to Ukraine, meaning that all of Kyiv'smajor Western allieshave now relaxed red lines on the use of their weapons inside Russia to fightMoscow's offensive. The decision fromChancellor Friedrich Merzcomes as Europe seeks to bolsterKyiv's war effortsamiduncertainty over U.S. security guaranteeseven as President Donald Trumpappears to be losing patiencewith Russian President Vladimir Putin, for stalling peace talks and his bombardment of Ukraine's cities. "There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine, neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans," Merz said Monday during a news conference in Berlin. "This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia ... With very few exceptions, it did not do so until recently," he added. Merz's decision may contradict that of his predecessor,former Chancellor Olof Scholz, who stopped short of allowing Ukraine to use long-range Taurus missiles, whose range of more than 500 kilometer (310 miles) exceeds that of the U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or the materiel provided by Britain or France. Washingtonlifted its own restrictionsallowing Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep inside Russia in November, with Germany the only major holdout left. Berlin is thesecond-biggest supplier of military aidto Ukraine after the U.S., but does not disclose which weapons systems it supplies to Ukraine due to what it calls "strategic ambiguity." As a result, Merz did not specifically discuss Taurus missiles in his comments, which came after the Kremlin on Sunday launched the largest air raid since beginning its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyysaid late Monday that the Russian army had launched more than 900 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles across Ukraine over the past three days. The bombardment continued Tuesday, with Russian strikes killing two civilians and injured dozens others, according to Ukrainian officials. "Russian strikes are becoming increasingly brazen and large-scale every night," Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. The combination of anunpredictable administrationin the White House andMoscow's intensifying attackshas promptedEuropean leaders to redouble effortsto reassure Ukraine, with the recently-elected Merz saying ina post Monday on Xthat Germany would "do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine." Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Tuesday accused Zelenskyy of "trying to blame Russia for prolonging the conflict." "Those who want peace do not ask for more weapons," she added. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov echoed those sentiments Tuesday, saying Europe was "indirectly participating" in the war against Russia by supplying arms to Ukraine. "Such behavior by Europeans in no way contributes to a peaceful settlement," he added. Peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv have remained in limbo since Trump and Putin exchangeda friendly, if fruitless, phone calllast week, withthe president announcing shortly afterwardthat Russia and Ukraine would "immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire." The Kremlin has since said it was working on a memorandum which outlines Moscow's demands for peace. Any demands that cleave toRussia's previous peace plans, which have been repeatedly refused by Kyiv, would essentially amount to Kyiv's surrender. Last week, Russia and Ukraine began thelargest prisoner swap of the three-year war, with nearly 800 captives expected to be released from both sides. A2024 United Nations reportfound that 95% of released Ukrainian prisoners of war faced systematic torture inside Russian jails. That swap appeared to have no bearing on Russia's persistent bombardment of its eastern neighbor or efforts by the White House to end a war which Trump previously said he could end in one day. Trump appeared to belosing patience with Putinafter Russia's latest bombardment, calling the Russian leader "crazy" in an X post Sunday. In response, the Kremlin dismissed the comments Monday as "emotional overload."
