Stoltenberg: Time Has Come To Reconsider Restrictions On UKR Weapons

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a NATO conference in Prague, has escalated a call for Ukraine's backers to authorise Ukraine to use western-supplied weapons to strike targets within the Russian Federation.

• Stoltenberg says that restrictions on the use of weapons delivered to Ukraine are "national decisions" but "in light of how this war has evolved" into a war that takes place increasingly along the Ukraine-Russia border has given Moscow a strategic advantage by allowing Russia to launch attacks, garrison troops, and store munitions close to the frontline with fewer risks.
• Stoltenberg: "Therefore, I believe the time has come to really consider some of these restrictions - to enable Ukraine to defend themselves."
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted yesterday that the Biden administration may lift some restrictions. Blinken said: “…at every step along the way, we’ve adapted and adjusted as necessary, and so that’s exactly what we’ll do going forward.”
• Shortly after Blinken's remarks, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby emphasized there is no policy change, but similarly noted that “support to Ukraine has evolved appropriately.”
• The New York Times reports: “Some of [Biden’s] advisers say they believe a reversal of his position is inevitable. But if the president does change his view, it will most likely come with severe restrictions on how the Ukrainians could use American-provided arms, limiting them to military targets, just inside Russia’s borders, that are involved in attacks on Ukraine."