Lift the restrictions and let Ukraine defend itself | Opinion

U.S., French and German officials recently said that the Ukrainian military may use some of its weapons to attack Russian targets near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv for “retaliation purposes only.” While the announcement was welcomed by many, it is puzzling why it has taken Western officials so long to make this decision.

For almost two and a half years, Ukrainians have been subjected to a brutal and violent Russian aggression. Thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, numerous villages and towns have been destroyed, and Russia’s war has displaced a quarter of Ukraine’s entire population.

When the war first began, Western media predicted that Ukraine would quickly fall to Russian forces, many foreign leaders were hesitant to provide Ukrainians with the weapons they needed to defend themselves against the Russian onslaught, and many international observers watched the conflict with unease.

Despite these pessimistic views, Ukrainians continued to resist: the country did not fall to the Russians, and the Ukrainian capital was successfully defended. A few months later, Ukrainians launched a counterattack that was successful: within weeks, Russian forces were driven out of northern Ukraine.

However, the international community has repeatedly imposed self-imposed restrictions on the Ukrainian military for self-defense, and some officials say these restrictions are in place to avoid escalating tensions with Russia: Western leaders are trying to reduce risks with the Russian Federation and do not want to provoke the Russian military.

While this caution is understandable, it led to a devastating loss of life across Ukraine. When the war began, Russia ordered the international community not to intervene in the invasion. If countries chose to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine, Russia said there would be severe consequences. There were even threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Western leaders were slow to respond to the initial invasion, and ongoing missile attacks left thousands of Ukrainians dead.

A few months after the war began, in the spring of 2022, changes were seen on the battlefield when the Ukrainian military received advanced weapons. By the end of 2022, Russian forces were forced to withdraw from northern and central Ukraine. Ukrainian forces also began to gain ground in southern and eastern Ukraine. Russia retaliated with additional missile attacks, but the war did not escalate.

Then, in 2023, Ukraine expanded its defense efforts and succeeded in destroying one-third of the Russian naval fleet in the Black Sea. The Russian blockade on the Black Sea was broken, and Ukrainian agricultural products were once again available to millions of people around the world, alleviating food crises in Asia and Africa. In addition, Ukraine began strategically targeting munitions depots and weapons facilities within the Crimean Peninsula. At the time, Western countries chose not to provide Ukraine with long-range missile capabilities, so Ukrainian authorities resorted to using drones to attack Russian facilities on Russian territory. Although effective, it took Ukraine a lot of time to calculate and execute these operations, as it did not have long-range missiles to launch these attacks.

Initially, many Western countries were hesitant to praise Ukraine for its successes, fearing further Russian escalation. But no radical form of aggression occurred. Similarly, many countries hesitated to provide Ukraine with the U.S. High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), defensive equipment to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. In the end, Ukraine got these capabilities, and nothing came of the Russian threat. In other words, the past two and a half years have shown the international community that Russia has fallen for a series of bluffs.

Russia has never launched a nuclear attack on Ukraine, orchestrated an attack on a NATO member state, or declared war on the international community. After Russia’s recent attack on Kharkiv, Western countries have only allowed Ukrainian authorities to attack military targets within Russia’s borders near Kharkiv. Ukrainian authorities have asked Western authorities to lift additional restrictions on Russian military targets, but so far have not been able to do so.

Ukraine is a country at war. It did not want to be invaded by the Russian Federation, and it is trying to defend itself from Russia’s ongoing aggression. However, continued restrictions on the use of weapons will limit how Ukraine can successfully defend itself from Russian military aggression. If Ukrainian forces cannot attack the military installations, arms factories, munitions depots, and energy infrastructure that support Russia’s war, Russia will continue the war. These unaffected areas will allow Russia to continue its military operations, refurbish its stockpiles, and attack Ukrainian residential areas. It will also make the war more devastating with further loss of innocent civilian lives.

Lifting restrictions on Ukrainian activities would allow Ukraine to do what it needs to do to properly defend its homeland. It would allow it to destroy weapons facilities that Russia uses to equip its invading forces. Ukraine would target Russian military equipment used in missile attacks on Ukraine. Most importantly, it would allow Ukraine to protect its cities and people from future Russian bombing attacks. Russia would not be able to continue its missile attacks if it did not have the equipment to organize them.

The West should do all it can to protect Ukrainian lives, and lifting restrictions to allow Ukrainian authorities to attack Russian military targets would be an excellent first step.

Mark Temnicki is Certified Freelance Journalist The Eurasian Situation and Part-time Research Fellow At the Eurasia Center of the Atlantic Council. He can be found at X Follow.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.