One condition was attached to almost every delivery of arms that Ukraine received from the West: the arms should only be used on Ukrainian territory; Russian territory is taboo. Not becoming a party to the war is a top priority for the West. In recent weeks, however, incidents in which Russia has been hit far behind its own lines have increased: drones over Moscow on Tuesday, artillery shelling on Russian territory last week, exploded fuel depots in southern Russia and fires on the roof of the Kremlin in early May.
Kiev almost always denied participation, including on Tuesday. Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said he was pleased with the attacks. “But of course we have nothing to do with it directly.” And even if it cannot be proven whether Ukraine is actually behind the attacks on Russian territory, the more they become more frequent, the more urgent the question arises as to whether such attacks are covered by international law.
The answer to this can be found in the Charter of the United Nations, specifically in chapter seven on “Measures with regard to peace threats, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression”. Article 51 states that nothing shall restrict a state’s right to self-defense unless the UN Security Council enacts measures to the contrary. This body includes the aggressor, Russia, and China, a state that has not yet condemned the aggression. So, in the absence of action from the Security Council, Ukraine is free to choose its own means of defending itself. Attacks on Russian territory have been allowed since the Russian attacks began more than a year ago.
“In principle, attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory are legal.”
Barry de Vries says so too. He conducts research on international law at the Leibniz Institute Hessian Foundation for Peace and Conflict Research (PRIF). “In principle, attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory are legal,” he says. With Russia starting the war, Ukraine has the right to use force to defend itself and is not bound by its own borders. There are only two restrictions: Defense attacks by Ukraine must not be disproportionate and must respect international humanitarian law – civilian facilities must not be the target.
Basically, then, Ukraine’s defense is actually not limited to its territory. The West is demanding restraint because it doesn’t want to give Putin any reason to call him a war party. Steffen Hebestreit, the spokesman for the federal government, also hinted at this on Wednesday: The Ukraine, he said in an interview with Deutsche Wellehas the right to attack Russian territory, but Berlin refuses to use weapons supplied by Germany.
Basically, the question is clear, but the alleged attack on Tuesday still raises questions: Debris from the downed drones hit residential buildings. So far, Kiev has always aimed at military and strategic targets. “The target of the recent attacks on Moscow is not yet clear,” says de Vries.