{"id":69102,"date":"2024-06-13T10:36:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T10:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/06\/13\/nato-chief-continues-push-to-let-ukraine-hit-russian-based-targets\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T16:15:18","slug":"nato-chief-continues-push-to-let-ukraine-hit-russian-based-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2024\/06\/13\/nato-chief-continues-push-to-let-ukraine-hit-russian-based-targets\/","title":{"rendered":"NATO chief continues push to let Ukraine hit Russian-based targets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BRUSSELS \u2014 NATO\u2019s top official said he \u201cwelcomed\u201d the choice by many countries in the alliance to let Ukraine fire across the border into Russia, arguing that the former restrictions in place ignored Ukraine\u2019s right to protect itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe right of self-defense includes also striking legitimate military targets on the territory of the aggressor: Russia,\u201d said Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of NATO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stoltenberg spoke to a crowd of reporters near the entrance of the alliance\u2019s headquarters in Brussels. Behind him, American and European officials entered ahead of a meeting of countries that gather each month to coordinate support for Kyiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In opening remarks shortly after, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin<\/a> updated the list of numbers showing Russia\u2019s costs incurred during the war: 350,000 casualties, 24 ships sunk or damaged, 2,600 armored vehicles destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the first such meeting since the U.S., following others in the alliance, loosened the rules on some of the weapons it\u2019s sending Ukraine. To this point in the war, America hasn\u2019t allowed Ukrainian forces to fire any munitions it\u2019s provided into Russia, fearing escalation with a nuclear-armed adversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\t