EU Foreign Chief: "Must Approve 'Strike Weapons on Russian Mainland' for Ukraine"

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said on the 18th (local time), "Ukraine should be able to use the weapons we provide not only to stop arrows but also to hit the archers." This implies that approval should be given for Ukraine to use long-range missiles capable of striking Russian territory.

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Photo by Yonhap News

Before the EU Foreign Ministers' meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, Borrell said, "I continue to believe that this (approval for weapon use) must be achieved." He added, "I am confident that it will be discussed again, and I hope member states will agree," emphasizing his point repeatedly.

The day before, reports from U.S. media such as The New York Times (NYT) conveyed that U.S. President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to attack targets inside Russia using the U.S.-supplied ground-to-ground missile ATACMS in response to North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia. This has been a repeated request from the Ukrainian side. Foreign ministers from European countries including the Netherlands and France have also expressed positive reactions to this.

Meanwhile, regarding the Middle East crisis, Borrell said he plans to propose to member states to suspend bilateral diplomatic talks with Israel, stating, "Pressure must be applied to the Israeli government." This is based on the 'EU-Israel Association Agreement' signed in 2000, and his position is that Israel's continued airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and violations of local civilians' human rights constitute a breach of the agreement.