German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Friday that Berlin, along with key Western allies, will no longer impose restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine — a move immediately criticized by Moscow as “quite dangerous.”

“There are no longer range restrictions for weapons delivered to Ukraine — not from the British, not from the French, not from us, and not from the Americans,” Merz told Germany’s public broadcaster WDR in Berlin.

He explained that this means Ukraine is now permitted to strike Russian military positions, with certain exceptions, something it had previously avoided. “It can do so now,” added Merz, who assumed office in early May.

The chancellor did not clarify whether the removal of range limits would apply to future German arms shipments, particularly the long-range Taurus missiles. Under former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic government, Germany — the second-largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine — had refused to deliver Taurus missiles over concerns that such a step could escalate tensions with Russia.

Prior to taking office, Merz had expressed support for sending Taurus missiles, which have a range of over 500 kilometers and are capable of reaching deep into Russian territory. However, more recently, he has been less specific, saying that for strategic reasons and to avoid giving Moscow advance knowledge, he would no longer provide detailed information about Germany’s military aid.

Until now, Germany has limited its deliveries to weapons with a range of roughly 70 kilometers.

Merz reaffirmed that Germany and its allies are committed to doing everything in their power to continue supporting Ukraine militarily.

In response, the Kremlin labeled the decision to lift range restrictions as “quite dangerous.”

“If these decisions have indeed been made, they go directly against our efforts to find a political solution… and therefore, this is quite a dangerous decision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a video broadcast by Russian media.