Finland not objecting to Ukraine using its weapons to attack Russia
Senior Finnish officials said that they did not restrict the use of weapons provided to Ukraine, so they can be used to attack military targets in Russia. The Finnish Ministry of Defense called on Germany to provide Kyiv with Taurus missiles to enable it to strike even further, reported Yle.
"Finland has not imposed any such restrictions, and Ukraine should have the right to use these weapons against military targets on Russian territory as well," said Jukka Kopra, chairman of the parliamentary Defense Committee.
According to Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, restrictions on the use of weapons were imposed mainly by countries that provided Ukraine with long-range weapons systems. At the same time, Finland did not impose any restrictions on the use of the weapons it sent, but their range is shorter than, for example, German Taurus missiles.
That is why Defense Minister Häkkänen and the leadership of the parliamentary Defense Committee called on Germany to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles. According to some experts, this could even have a decisive impact on the course of the war.
NATO's press service told Yle that they have not given instructions to the allies on how and where Ukraine should use military assistance. NATO's position is that Ukraine has the right to self-defense, including the right to strike at Russian military targets outside of Ukraine.
The new commander of the Finnish Defense Forces, Andrus Merilo, recently said that the West made a mistake by limiting the use of weapons provided to Ukraine. According to him, the war should be transferred to Russian territory, as it is an absolutely legitimate defense struggle, which is allowed by the UN Charter.
In total, Finland has already sent 1.8 billion euros in military aid to Ukraine. However, the country does not publicly disclose what kind of weapons it has provided.