Ukraine has the right to defend itself by striking Russia

Ukraine has the right to defend itself. And according to international norms and rules of military conflict, this right does not end at its borders.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to a statement by Admiral Rob Bauer, the head of NATO's highest military structure, during a press conference following the results of the offsite meeting of the Alliance's Military Committee.

Bauer reminded that in accordance with international norms and rules of military conflict, any country under attack, as was the case with Ukraine, has the right to defend itself, and this right does not end at its borders, which allows it to strike the attacker on its territory.

“According to these rules of armed conflict, you are allowed to attack the state that attacked you. It is normal in the military sense that you want to weaken the enemy that is attacking you. Not only to defend yourself against the arrows that are aimed at you, but also to attack the archer. We have seen very often how the shelling against Ukraine was carried out from Russia,” said the admiral.

He noted that from a military point of view, there is every reason to strike at enemy territory.

According to Bauer, this weakens the enemy, disrupts its logistics lines, and prevents the supply of fuel, ammunition and other equipment to the front. He also noted that there are all legal grounds for such actions.

However, the admiral emphasized that this is only one part of the discussion that is currently taking place between the Allies.

“The second part of the discussion is that if NATO allies provide weapons systems for Ukraine, it is also their right to set certain restrictions on the use of these weapons because they feel responsible for these weapons. This is a political discussion, and this is what is happening. Some states have different opinions on this. But if you ask me, as a military man, whether this is possible, my answer is yes,” the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee emphasized.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 16/09/2024