Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on Wednesday (29) that Ukraine has permission to use weapons donated by her country to attack targets on Russian territory, as the United Nations (UN) recognizes the right of an attacked country to defend itself against its aggressor.
“Finland has not imposed specific restrictions on its material aid to Ukraine, but assumes that the material will be used in accordance with international law,” Valtonen told Finnish newspaper Uusi Suomi.
“Russia is waging an illegal war of aggression in Ukraine and Ukraine has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. This also includes attacks on military targets in the aggressor’s territory that are necessary for self-defense “, he added.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has insisted for weeks on receiving authorization from his Western partners to attack Russian territory with their weapons, as he argues that he cannot protect the populations of the northeast of the country when Russia attacks on the other side of the border and that Kiev does not have sufficient air defense systems.
The Finnish minister made these statements after the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, asked allies to consider allowing Ukraine to attack Russia on its own territory with Western weapons, something that several countries expressly prohibited when delivering weapons to Kiev.
Valtonen will participate in the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, this Thursday (30) and Friday (31) to discuss military support for Ukraine and prepare for the Alliance summit in Washington in the month of July.
“Support for Ukraine will be at the heart of this meeting and the NATO summit in Washington. It is important for Finland that NATO sends the strongest possible message to Ukraine about continued support,” he said in a statement from the Chancellery. (With EFE Agency)
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