Peter Stano, the European Commission’s lead spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security, has confirmed the bureaucracy’s support for Ukraine’s strikes within Russia.
“Ukraine has a right to defend itself, and this right to defend itself includes also hitting the enemy on his territory,” Stano told reporters on August 8.
“We think that Ukraine is fighting a legitimate defensive war against an illegal aggression.”
Stano’s remarks followed Ukraine’s recent offensive in East Russia’s Kursk region on August 6.
Although Stano emphasised that the European Union’s position on the conflict has remained unchanged “since February 2022”, this offensive and the EU’s response represented a notable shift in the dynamics and development of the ongoing conflict.
While the use of Western-supplied weapons by Ukrainian forces into Russia has been accepted, it was initially unclear whether such support extended to Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory.
In May 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron supported Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied weapons to “neutralise” enemy military installations on the Russian mainland.
Ukraine should be allowed to use donated Western weapons to “neutralise” mainland Russian military installations, French President Emmanuel Macron said. https://t.co/TwQWqW1GQh
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 30, 2024
Until now, Ukraine’s approach to the war had been largely defensive but to many it appears that President Volodymyr Zelensky has adopted a new strategy.
On August 8, Zelensky hinted at Ukraine’s offensive in Russia, stating: “Russia brought the war to our land and should feel the consequences of its actions.”
In response to the Ukrainian incursion Russian President Vladimir Putin described it as a “major provocation” on August 7.
Moscow has since declared a federal state of emergency in the Kursk region and authorities have been evacuating civilians.
