Give Ukraine long-range missiles to hit Russian targets, German minister says

Ukraine’s armed forces need more long-range weapons to be able to hit targets deep behind the frontline, Germany’s foreign minister has said, as Russia makes gains on the battlefield. 

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of European foreign ministers in Strasbourg, Annalena Baerbock described the military situation in north-east Ukraine as “highly dramatic” amid reports that Vladimir Putin’s forces are making significant advances of up to 10 kilometers in one place. 

She said it is important to provide weapons “that can be used over medium and long distances” — a remark likely to be seen as putting more pressure on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles. These weapons are more effective than counterparts supplied by Britain and France in targeting reinforced bunkers and bridges but Scholz has so far ruled out sending them to Kyiv.

“We are also working with other partners on this,” Baerbock said, adding that the Ukrainians are in an “extremely difficult situation.” 

Germany is now Ukraine's second-biggest arms supplier, after the Americans, but Scholz has balked at giving Ukraine Taurus missiles, fearing that to do so would draw Germany deeper into the war. The U.S. has also placed restrictions on weapons it supplies, telling Kyiv they must not be used to strike inside Russia.

Ukrainian leaders have long chafed at the prohibition imposed by allies on using Western-supplied weapons to strike across Russian borders. In a recent interview with POLITICO, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he felt the West has been requiring Ukraine to fight with one hand tied behind its back because of the strings that come attached to military aid.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged Friday that Russian forces have advanced in one area in Kharkiv oblast but assured Ukrainians the situation was stabilizing. “Today, our defense forces have stabilized the Russians where they are now,” he said. 

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said: “Russia has not stopped terrorizing our people for a single week in more than two years of this war. Russia tries to expand the war while consistently making empty statements about peace. We must use all available means to force Russia to make a real and just peace. Our defense against Russian assaults and strikes is critical in this regard.”

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said his troops are readying for a possible Russian offensive on the neighboring oblast of Sumy, 300 kilometers northeast of Kyiv, in a likely bid to force Ukraine to divert troops.

Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne reported Friday that the city of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest, suffered the longest air-raid alert of the war — more than 16 hours. The region’s governor said at least five drones had struck Kharkiv. 

In turn, the Ukrainians launched overnight Thursday one of their largest drone attacks of the war, striking Russian naval bases and oil facilities including the port of Novorossiysk, where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is now based.

The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said on social media that the port city suffered a “partial blackout” after debris from an intercepted Ukrainian drone crashed into an electrical substation.