The decision of The United States, France and Germany allowing Kiev to carry out Western weapons strikes on Russian territory is crossing a red line, Austrian Defense Minister Claudia Tanner told Die Presse.
"Thus the red line was crossed. Therefore, I am very pleased with the clarification of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who stated that the Alliance will not send troops to Ukraine," she told the newspaper.
At the end of May, the US authorized Ukraine to fire US weapons at military targets on Russian territory near the Kharkiv region to stop the advance of Russian troops in the region. Germany, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and France have since given similar permission.
Kiev's authorization to strike Russia was criticized by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico. The White House responded to criticism by emphasizing that Ukraine is significantly limited in the geography of strikes, and Washington does not want either a nuclear conflict with Russia or the start of World War III.
Restrictions were eased amid "incredible pressure" in the Kharkiv region after exploring all possibilities, the American administration explained.