NATO meets as pressure grows to let Ukraine hit Russia

NATO foreign ministers meet in Prague on Thursday in the face of growing calls for leading allies to lift restrictions stopping Kiev from using Western weapons to strike inside Russia.

The two-day gathering in the Czech capital is meant to focus on efforts to hammer out a package of support for Ukraine at NATO's summit in Washington in July.

But the swirling debate over whether to let Kiev use arms sent by Western backers to strike inside Russia risks overshadowing the meeting.

Ukraine has been pressing its supporters — chiefly the United States — to allow it to use the longer-range weaponry they supply to hit targets inside Russia.

The United States and Germany have so far refused to permit Kiev to strike over the border out of fear that it could drag them closer to direct conflict with Moscow.

Ahead of the NATO meeting — which starts with a dinner on Thursday — alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said repeatedly it was time for members to reconsider those limits as they hamper Kiev's ability to defend itself.

French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to shift the dial on Tuesday when he said Ukraine should be allowed to "neutralise" bases in Russia used to launch strikes.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, remained less committal, saying Ukraine should act within the law — and Berlin had not supplied the weapons to hit Russia anyway.

Across the Atlantic, the White House said it still opposed Ukraine using U.S. arms to strike inside Russia, although Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted that that strategy could change.

Moscow, meanwhile, has reacted strongly — with President Vladimir Putin warning there would be "serious consequences" if Western countries give approval to Ukraine.

Those...