Allowing AFU to fire Western weapons up to 200 kilometers would change situation - former NATO general

This opinion was expressed in a commentary to Ukrinform by Klaus Wittmann, a retired Bundeswehr brigadier general and NATO headquarters officer.

“If they [the leaders] do not want to completely lift the restrictions, they could in this situation allow the use of weapons to a depth of 100-200 km from the Ukrainian border. Even when the restrictions were eased very slightly near the Kharkiv region, it has already led to great complications for the invading Russian troops in terms of their supply. It had an impact,” Wittmann said.

He noted that there are many facilities within this radius that are very important for the Russian army. The ex-general added that even doubling the number of air defense systems currently available would not be enough to protect all Ukrainian cities, infrastructure facilities and troops at the front, and that it is necessary to look for ways to prevent attacks as much as possible, which means destroying the locations of equipment and troops, airfields, logistics, and launchers within a radius of at least 200 km deep into the territory of the Russian Federation.

“This would be a big step forward,” he reiterated.

At the same time, Wittmann is skeptical that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will stop resisting and “remain stubborn” in his unwillingness to either transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine or agree to the need for permission to strike at Russian territory. Scholz is hiding behind U.S. President Joe Biden, whom the former German military leader also considers “overly cautious.” We should not expect any radical steps from Biden before he leaves the White House, Wittmann is convinced, who considers these two Western leaders “frightened.”

According to Wittmann, Scholz has no more arguments than what he keeps repeating: “I have decided so” and quotes those who say that ”such weapons can destroy the Kremlin.”

It was hesitation and excessive caution that led to the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023, the former NATO staffer argues. He reminded that it took the German government 3 quarters of a year to approve the decision to send tanks after it was voted in the Bundestag.

Wittmann believes that Volodymyr Zelensky's Victory Plan is “quite realistic, but only if the West finally starts doing enough” to support Ukraine.

The ex-general also sees it necessary to explain to politicians like Sahra Wagenknecht, who scare of Russia's defeat, and their supporters that “defeating Russia in Ukraine is not the same as in the Third Reich - an attempt to occupy and destroy Russia. It simply means forcing the withdrawal of Russian troops. This would be a victory for Ukraine. And it depends on us,” Wittmann emphasized.

As a reminder, Ukraine asked Berlin to provide it with Taurus missiles with a range of up to 500 km in May 2023. Despite repeated discussions in the Bundestag and calls from many German politicians, the German government refuses to provide such weapons, explaining that it does not want to escalate. As for the restrictions, Germany did not impose them precisely because all the weapons transferred from Germany before were not long-range.