Nearly half of Germans endorse Ukraine using Western weapons to strike targets in Russia

The German public is divided over whether Ukraine should be allowed to use Western-supplied weapons to strike military targets in Russia, a recent poll has shown.

According to Forsa poll for RTL/ntv, a total of 49% of respondents believe that Ukraine should be able to use Western weapons to strike military bases in Russia that the latter uses to carry out attacks on Ukraine.

Around 44% of respondents believe Ukraine should not be allowed to do so.

The poll revealed differences between the east and west of Germany: while 52% of residents of  Germany’s west support allowing Ukraine to strike military targets in Russia, 62% of respondents of Germany's east oppose it.

The differences are even greater among political parties: supporters of the Greens and the Free Democratic Party are most likely to be in favour if this decision (70% each), while supporters of Alternative for Germany (68%) and the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (75%) are most likely to stand against it.

The data for the RTL/ntv poll were collected by the market and opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of RTL Deutschland from 31 May to 3 June among 1,001 respondents.

Last week, the German government confirmed that it gave Ukraine a permission to use German-supplied weapons to strike military targets in Russia.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius characterised Berlin's decision to enable Ukraine to employ German weaponry against Russian military facilities as a "strategic adaptation to a changing situation".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasised that allowing Ukraine to use the weapons provided by Germany to strike targets in Russia would not lead to escalation and was necessary for self-defence.

German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has said he regrets that the government led by Olaf Scholz did not allow Ukraine to deploy Western-supplied weapons to strike military targets in Russia sooner.