Kremlin Says Enhanced Missile Range for Ukraine Would Be Dangerous

 A view of residential houses destroyed by a Russian strike in Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)
A view of residential houses destroyed by a Russian strike in Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)
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Kremlin Says Enhanced Missile Range for Ukraine Would Be Dangerous

 A view of residential houses destroyed by a Russian strike in Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)
A view of residential houses destroyed by a Russian strike in Korostyshiv, Zhytomyr region, Ukraine, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said any decision by European countries that might give Ukraine enhanced long-range missile capabilities would be a dangerous move, Kremlin correspondent Alexander Yunashev reported.

Peskov's comments came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had spoken about the absence of range restrictions for weapons delivered to Ukraine, which one German government official said did not represent a change in policy.

"These potential decisions, if such decisions have indeed been made, run absolutely contrary to our aspirations for reaching a political settlement," Peskov said.

He said such decisions, if there were any, were quite dangerous.

Merz on Monday said his government would do everything possible to keep supporting Ukraine militarily, pointing out that the lack of range restrictions meant Ukraine could attack military targets in Russia.

"Ukraine wasn't able to do that until some time ago," Merz said at the WDR European Forum. "With very few exceptions, it did not do so until recently."

Washington allowed Ukraine to use US-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, Reuters reported in November, in a significant reversal of US policy in Joe Biden's final months in office.

France and Germany's leaders said in May 2024 that Ukraine should be allowed to hit military sites inside Russia from which missiles were being fired at Ukrainian territory, but not other targets.

A German government official told Reuters: "This isn't new, this government never had a range limit."

The German parliament elected Merz as chancellor on May 6.

On Monday, Merz would not say whether his comments meant that Germany would deliver Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, something Merz had demanded when he was opposition leader to Olaf Scholz's administration.

The German government no longer discloses which weapon systems it delivers to Ukraine.

Several sources told Reuters on Monday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday.



Explosive Device Likely Damaged Greek Tanker off Libya Last Week, Operator Says

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar (File Photo)
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar (File Photo)
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Explosive Device Likely Damaged Greek Tanker off Libya Last Week, Operator Says

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar (File Photo)
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar (File Photo)

An external explosive device most likely caused the blast that damaged Greek oil tanker Vilamoura as it was sailing off the Libyan coast last week, the vessel's Greece-based operator TMS Tankers said on Sunday, citing an initial investigation.

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar with some 1 million barrels of oil when there was an explosion in the engine room, Reuters reported.

"Preliminary investigation findings clearly indicate that the explosion, the resulting fracture of the side shell plating, and the flooding of the engine room were caused by an external source —an unidentified explosive device," TMS Tankers said.

Maritime security sources told Reuters last week that a limpet mine may have caused the blast on Vilamoura, the fifth such incident to hit commercial shipping in the region in recent months.

Following the explosion and the flooding of its engine room the vessel lost manoeuvrability, although it was able to be towed towards Greece.

The vessel has now arrived safely at Laconikos Bay in Greece and its crew are in good health, the operator added in a statement.