France's president has joined the head of NATO in pushing for a policy shift that could change the complexion of the war in Ukraine -- allowing Kyiv to strike military bases inside Russia with sophisticated long-range weapons provided by Western partners.
The question of whether to allow Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil with Western-supplied weaponry has been a delicate issue since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Western leaders have mostly shrunk from taking the step because it runs the risk of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly warned that the West's direct involvement could put the world on a path to nuclear conflict.
But the war has been going Russia's way recently as the Kremlin's forces have exploited Ukrainian shortages in troops and ammunition after a lengthy delay in U.S. military aid, and Western Europe's inadequate military production slowed crucial deliveries to the battlefield.
Russian missiles and bombs have pummelled Ukrainian military positions and civilian areas, including the power grid. Ukraine is facing its hardest test of the war, and untying its hands on long-range weapons could spur a fightback and upset the Kremlin.
Macron said that France's position is that "we think we must allow (Ukraine) to neutralize the (Russian) military sites from which the missiles are fired."
"If we tell (the Ukrainians) you do not have the right to reach the point from which the missiles are fired, we are in fact telling them that we are delivering weapons to you, but you cannot defend yourself," Macron said late Tuesday on an official visit to Germany.
His remarks came a day after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged the alliance's members to lift some of the restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weapons.
"The right to self-defence includes hitting legitimate targets outside Ukraine," Stoltenberg said at a NATO meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria on Monday.
Already, at the start of May, Moscow interpreted as a threat U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron's comment that Ukraine could use British long-range weapons, such as the Storm Shadow cruise missile, to hit back at Russia.
That, and Macron's comments that he doesn't exclude sending troops to Ukraine, prompted Russia to announce it would hold drills involving tactical nuclear weapons. Russia also warned the U.K. government that its decision could bring retaliatory strikes on British military facilities and equipment on Ukrainian soil or elsewhere.
The leaders are choosing their words carefully. Macron underlined that only Russian bases used to launch missiles against Ukraine should be regarded as legitimate targets -- not other Russian bases or civilian infrastructure.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking alongside Macron, was as usual more guarded and noncommittal, noting that Ukraine "is allowed to defend itself" under international law.
Scholz's spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, clarified Wednesday that the chancellor meant that Ukraine's defence "isn't limited to its territory." He declined to say what agreements with Ukraine on weapons supplied by Germany stipulate, insisting they are confidential.
Scholz has insisted on avoiding steps that could end up drawing NATO into a battlefield confrontation with Russia. Other Western leaders have expressed similar fears of a creeping, high-stakes escalation.
His concerns are shared in Washington. Over the past two years, the U.S. has gradually ceded to Ukrainian requests for support, sending tanks and long-range missile systems that it initially hesitated to provide, but with a caveat on aiming them at Russian soil.
"There's no change to our policy at this point," U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. "We don't encourage or enable the use of U.S.-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia."
Western leaders are keen to put pressure on Putin, whose forces have recently been pushing hard against Ukrainian defences in eastern and northeastern Ukraine.
This week has brought a cascade of new European aid, with Belgium and Spain each pledging around 1 billion euros (US$1.1 billion) in new military support to Ukraine. Sweden announced Wednesday it will donate aid worth 13 billion kronor ($1.23 billion) -- the largest package Sweden has donated so far. It will include air defence systems, artillery ammunition and armoured vehicles.
Ukraine has recently been under intense pressure from Russian attacks in the northeastern Kharkiv region and in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region.
Putin has said he wants to establish a "buffer zone" in Kharkiv to halt cross-border Ukrainian assaults. Analysts say the Kharkiv push also draws depleted Ukrainian forces away from Donetsk.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Tuesday that Russia's Kharkiv push has slowed in recent days and the Kremlin's forces are probing the front line in Donetsk for weaknesses.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
A new report suggests that Canadians' exposure to a radioactive gas is increasing, putting millions of people at a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
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The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
A day after after an E. coli outbreak tied to Quarter Pounders in the western part of the United States left one dead and 10 hospitalized, McDonald鈥檚 entered full damage-control mode.
In part two of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5 uses trackers tp reveal a for-profit operation masquerading as a charity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside.
Gisele Pelicot, the 72-year-old victim of mass rape whose ordeal has shocked the world, told a trial in southern France on Wednesday that she was determined that making her case public should help other women and change society.
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
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An oil salvage operation is underway on the fragile wreckage of a U.S. army transport ship that sank almost 80 years ago off coastal British Columbia in a race to head off an eruption of thousands of litres of oil that a coast guard official says is "near imminent."
Ellen Francis says she and her family were having a great time at one of Cuba's famously stunning beaches and exploring the popular tourist town of Varadero when the situation turned into something like a scary movie.
British Columbia's highest court has weighed in on a dispute over an inflatable hot tub a couple set up on their condo's patio 鈥 potentially bringing a close to the years-long conflict.
A father and his two children who suffered severe burns in a Springfield, Ont. house fire have undergone surgery.
Donald Trump's longest-serving chief of staff is warning that the Republican presidential nominee meets the definition of a fascist and that while in office, Trump suggested that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler 'did some good things.'
A Polish radio station has triggered controversy after dismissing its journalists and relaunching this week with AI-generated 'presenters.'
French politicians are deeply divided over the fate of lawmaker Andy Kerbrat, caught last week buying synthetic drugs, and whether his breaking the law should push him to resign.
A court in Greenland on Wednesday once again decided to extend the custody of anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson till Nov. 13 while Denmark considers a Japanese extradition request.
A British father and daughter who were seriously wounded by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in 2017 won a harassment lawsuit Wednesday against a former television producer, who claimed the tragedy was a hoax.
About 3,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia and they are now receiving training on drones and other equipment before being deployed to battlefields in Ukraine, South Korea's spy chief told lawmakers Monday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside.
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A day after after an E. coli outbreak tied to Quarter Pounders in the western part of the United States left one dead and 10 hospitalized, McDonald鈥檚 entered full damage-control mode.
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A new report suggests that Canadians' exposure to a radioactive gas is increasing, putting millions of people at a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
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Taylor Swift fans from far and wide will head to Toronto next month to see the superstar perform a series of six sold out shows at the Rogers Centre.
The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,' which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.
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The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
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Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors kick off the new NBA season tonight as they host the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
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The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
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A new report suggests that Canadians' exposure to a radioactive gas is increasing, putting millions of people at a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
The majority of Monday鈥檚 snow melted on Tuesday thanks to some sunny weather, and road conditions vastly improved in and around Calgary.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
An Orl茅ans property that once belonged to a religious order is now in the City of Ottawa's hands.
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Cool mornings and mild afternoons through the rest of this week in Edmonton and area.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
The president of a popular New Brunswick potato chip company has been arrested for domestic violence in Bangor, Maine.
A special weather statement is in effect Wednesday as Environment Canada warns of possible heavy rain and strong winds in parts of Nova Scotia later this week.
Folks making the trek to and from Thompson along Highway 6 are once again without a bathroom break鈥 at least for now.
An armed man attempted to rob a Winnipeg restaurant on Monday.
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The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
Waterloo Regional Police are investigating a sudden death in Kitchener.
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Ontario Provincial Police are looking for a missing teenager from Goderich.
Candidates across Saskatchewan are making their final pitches to potential voters as the 2024 election campaign is quickly approaching its end.
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Greater Sudbury has ended the employment of CAO Ed Archer, Mayor Paul Lefebvre announced suddenly Tuesday evening
The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
A man is miraculously alive after driving his pickup truck through the fence and down a 150-foot embankment at Hawk Cliff in near Port Stanley, Ont.
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Residents living in central Windsor are calling for after-hours construction to expand a commercial development to stop.
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An oil salvage operation is underway on the fragile wreckage of a U.S. army transport ship that sank almost 80 years ago off coastal British Columbia in a race to head off an eruption of thousands of litres of oil that a coast guard official says is "near imminent."
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The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's waiting for NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi to declare where he intends to run for office before she calls a byelection in Lethbridge.
The health of honeybees will be the focus of a presentation at the University of Lethbridge on Wednesday evening.
The union representing the fire rangers with the Ministry of Natural Resources says money won鈥檛 fix the systemic problems in the workplace.
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An Indigenous group in northwestern Ontario shut down the highway for a couple of hours Monday morning in protest after ancestral remains were found at a construction site.
Police in western Newfoundland say a 77-year-old man visiting the province from Kansas is missing after a fire at a hotel in Deer Lake, N.L.
At 2 p.m. on Thursday, the scene at the Lions Club in Clarenville, N.L., rivalled any rowdy St. John's bar that thumps with music late on a weekend night.
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