MP from Scholz's party calls for Ukraine to be allowed to use German-supplied weapons against Russia

Michael Roth, Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party, has called for Ukraine to be authorised to use weapons supplied by Germany and other Western countries to strike targets in Russia.

As reported by German TV news service Tagesschau, speaking on the air Deutschlandfunk radio about fears in the West of an escalation in connection with this step, he stressed that there is only one person responsible for escalations of the violence – Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

"I strongly advise that you follow the lead of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has made this proposal," Roth said.

Earlier, Politico quoted a source as saying that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in favour of allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons against targets in Russia. However, the source did not provide details.

On Tuesday, Scholz stressed that Ukraine "has every opportunity under international law to do what it is doing" and that Western countries that provide Ukraine with weapons "have discovered all the rules for their use, which are based on international law".

However, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius pointed out that "in the interests of military tactics and strategy, it should be clear that we should not publicly discuss what is possible, what is allowed, what we would like to see, and what is not [allowed]".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has urged the allies to reconsider the restrictions on Ukraine striking Russia with Western weapons amid border fighting in Kharkiv Oblast.