The US army tactical missile system (ATACMS)

Ukraine has a legitimate military rationale for striking deeper into Russian territory using Western weapons, a senior NATO official stated on Saturday, according to Reuters.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House, where Ukraine’s allies discussed whether to allow Kyiv to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if the West allows Ukraine to strike with long-range Western-made missiles, it would be tantamount to the West directly fighting against Russia. He emphasized that this would be perceived as active involvement.

At a meeting in Prague of NATO’s Military Committee, the alliance’s highest military authority, Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of the committee, stated that international law grants nations the right to self-defense, and that right does not end at a country’s border.

“In military terms, you conduct those strikes because you want to weaken the enemy attacking you, not only to fight off the arrows that are coming your way but also to weaken the archer,” Bauer explained. “Therefore, from a military perspective, there is a solid reason to do this – to weaken the enemy by targeting their logistical lines, fuel, and ammunition supplies that reach the front,” he added.

However, Bauer noted that there is also a political side to the discussion, as countries supplying these weapons might feel responsible for how they are used, and those political discussions are ongoing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged allies to allow Ukraine to use Western long-range missiles, including American ATACMS and British Storm Shadow, to strike deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.

Putin claimed on Thursday that NATO personnel would likely have to program the missile trajectories, as Kyiv lacks the necessary capabilities.