German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has insisted his country will not lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range German weapons against Russia, despite Kiev's pleas.
The government has made "some decisions" regarding military support for Ukraine, which "are very clear to me," Scholz said Monday night in New York. There, Scholz is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Scholz emphasized that among those decisions are the restrictions that prevent Ukraine from launching German missiles deep inside the territory of Russia.
"This is not in line with my personal position... We will not do this and we have good reason for this," added Scholz, who is in the United States to attend the United Nations General Assembly. .
Zelensky has repeatedly pleaded with Western partners to allow Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside Russian soil, including airfields and oil depots used by the military.
The longest-range weapon that Germany has so far donated to Kiev is the MARS II missile launcher, which can hit a target 84 kilometers away. Berlin has given permission to Kiev to use this missile launcher only in a limited space within Russian soil, near the Ukrainian border city of Kharkiv.
Scholz has refused to supply Kiev with long-range precision weapons, despite the decisions of Germany's NATO allies.
Germany does not want to give Ukraine Taurus cruise missiles, which can hit targets about 500 kilometers away, arguing that "this would significantly increase the risk of escalation of the war".
The US, Great Britain and France have supplied Kiev with cruise missiles, which can hit targets up to 300 kilometers away. They are considering whether or not to allow Kiev to use these missiles to attack targets deep inside Russia.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has said that the use of such weapons by Kiev would plunge NATO into direct conflict with Russia.