““According to the UN charter and the law of armed conflict, if you are attacked by another state, you are allowed to defend yourself. This protection doesn’t stop at your borders. You are allowed to attack the enemy on his own territory””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
In an interview with RFE/RL on September 14, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer said that the lifting of restrictions is not an issue that NATO is discussing, but in his opinion as a military leader, the answer would be yes.
“Under the UN Charter and under the law of armed conflict, if you are attacked by another state, you are allowed to defend yourself,” Bauer said. – This protection does not stop at your borders. You are allowed to attack the enemy on his own territory.”
Bauer spoke to RFE/RL as the NATO Military Committee — the alliance’s top military body — convened in Prague for a two-day conference to discuss strategic developments in NATO in light of decisions taken at the NATO summit in July.
The meeting took place a day after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss whether to approve Kyiv’s request to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia.
Bauer said the threats issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev in response to those discussions showed their concern about how the war is continuing two and a half years after Russia started it.
“I think it’s primarily evidence of how disappointed they are that Russia hasn’t achieved any of its strategic goals in Ukraine,” Bauer said.
Putin said earlier this week that the West would be involved in “war” with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to launch long-range strikes with Western missiles, and Medvedev said on September 14 that Russia could destroy Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, if the West lifted its restrictions. Medvedev, who is now the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, also said that Moscow could resort to nuclear weapons.
Bauer said that threats should be taken seriously, but what NATO and other allies of Ukraine are doing “is in line with the UN charter, international law. And we will continue to do so.”
In his speech at the conference, Bauer praised the Ukrainian military for proving to the world that “there’s nothing they can’t do” and they just need the support of their allies to achieve their goals.
“And they will have it — not just now, not just during the war, but for decades to come,” Bauer said in comments at the conference.
NATO allies, led by the United States, have donated tens of billions of dollars worth of military equipment to help Ukraine fight the war, and Bauer said Ukraine’s armed forces are becoming “more and more compatible” with NATO forces every day, bringing the country closer to membership in the alliance.
“One day we will stand side by side under the NATO flag,” he said. “Ukraine deserves our unwavering support not only because of who they are as a people, but also because of who we are as NATO.”
Bauer also said that NATO needs a much larger defense production capacity and that it needs to be better coordinated to strengthen deterrence.
“The more we build deterrence, the better chance we have to protect the freedoms we cherish and prevent war on our soil,” he said.
Army Lieutenant General Karel Reka, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, also commented on Russia’s war against Ukraine, noting that it is about the survival of Ukraine and the struggle for the principles of democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity, which NATO exists to protect.
“It is extremely important that we – the top of our military – provide all necessary assistance to Ukraine, whether in the form of training or the supply of weapons and other military equipment,” Reka said in an address to the conference on September 14. “By supporting Ukraine, we also strengthen our unity and deter the Russian threat.”
Both Bauer and Reca agreed on the need to increase defense spending, with Reca saying, “It’s clear that two percent of GDP for defense spending is not going to be enough.”
The head of the Czech General Staff also warned that threats from Russia come not only on the battlefield, but also in the form of hybrid tactics, cyber attacks, and disinformation campaigns.
“All these actions are aimed at sowing fear and undermining the unity of our societies. Therefore, we must take a broad approach… that combines our conventional military capabilities with robust cyber defense and strong civil-military cooperation,” he emphasized.
Previously, Western countries did not allow Ukraine to strike the internationally recognized territory of Russia with high-precision long-range systems that they supply to Kyiv. However, as a result of the visit of British Foreign Minister David Lammy and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, London could lift such a restriction – this was not officially announced, but The Guardian newspaper wrote about it with reference to sources. Blinken also hinted during the visit that the US might lift a ban on similar use of ATACMS.