Ukraine Can Finally Strike Back

Merz Ends the Era of Restraint. Russian Military Infrastructure Is Now on the Target List.

I needed this news. Badly.

It’s taken nearly three years to get here. Three years of watching Ukraine fight with one hand tied behind its back. So yes — this wasn’t just overdue. It was necessary.

Yesterday, the allies finally lifted the last of the long-range restrictions on Ukraine. The Biden-era chokehold — the one that blocked Ukraine from striking deep into Russian territory, from targeting the empire’s military backbone and production hubs — is now gone.

German Chancellor Merz made it official:

There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, not from the British, not from the French, not from us, not from the Americans either. This means that Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia, for example.

It couldn't do that until some time ago, and with very few exceptions, it didn't do that until some time ago. Now it can. In jargon, we call this long-range fire, i.e., equipping Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the rear.

And that is the decisive qualitative difference in Ukraine's warfare. Russia attacks civilian targets absolutely ruthlessly, bombing cities, kindergartens, hospitals, and old people's homes. Ukraine does not do that.

And we attach great importance to keeping it that way. But, a country that can only defend itself against an attacker on its own territory is not defending itself adequately. And this defense of Ukraine is now also taking place against military infrastructure on Russian territory

Merz didn’t stop at lifting restrictions. He went further — calling for Ukraine not only to be armed with long-range strike capabilities, but to be helped in building them. Naturally, that lit up the press room. All eyes turned to the question of Taurus missile deliveries.

Reports have floated numbers — anywhere from 100 to 150 missiles — but I don’t buy them. Germany has already made the strategic decision to say nothing publicly: not when, not how many, not even if. That silence is deliberate. But after yesterday’s statement, let’s not kid ourselves — the ambiguity is over. Taurus is coming.

There’s also the optics. Merz relentlessly attacked former Chancellor Scholz for stalling on Taurus. It stuck. It made Scholz look indecisive and weak. Merz knows that line of attack worked — and he’s not about to fall into the same trap. Even if he doesn’t shout it from the rooftops, he’ll deliver. The politics demand it.

And to give credit where it’s due: the man isn’t playing it safe. Before he was even voted in, he broke taboos most leaders wouldn’t dare touch. He called for Europe to step away from the American nuclear umbrella, pushed to suspend Germany’s self-imposed debt rules so defense and infrastructure could finally be funded at scale, demanded EU structural reforms to isolate Putin’s proxies, and openly questioned NATO’s long-term relevance.

He did all of that before the Bundestag confirmed him as Chancellor. He didn’t have to. But he forced the fractures into the open — took all the political pain up front, before he had even secured the job. The media tried to spin it as weakness when his chancellorship required a second-round vote — the first time in history. But I see it differently.

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By detonating all the landmines early, Merz has cleared the path ahead. Everyone now knows where he stands — his party, his coalition, his enemies. And the payoff is already beginning to show.

Lifting the long-range strike restrictions isn’t a marginal policy shift. It’s a strategic earthquake. It radically increases the cost for the Kremlin to sustain this war, and it makes any future plans to expand the conflict into Europe exponentially more dangerous for Moscow.

Back in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, American and coalition ground forces didn’t advance until after a 43-day, round-the-clock aerial campaign had shredded Iraq’s military infrastructure. This wasn’t symbolic. It was strategic. The goal was clear: paralyze Saddam Hussein’s ability to fight before a single tank crossed the line.

In those 43 days, coalition forces flew over 100,000 sorties and dropped nearly 88,500 tons of bombs. They launched more than 280 Tomahawk cruise missiles, alongside thousands of precision-guided munitions that systematically took out Iraqi airfields, radar stations, command bunkers, missile launchers, and ammunition depots.

That’s combined arms warfare in its purest form. You don’t just send troops into battle — you shape the battlefield first. You blind the enemy. You sever their communications. You blow holes through their supply chains. And by the time your armor rolls in, the enemy’s ability to resist has already been broken.

That’s how wars are won — not just with bravery, but by removing your enemy’s ability to respond.

Ukraine never got that chance. For years, it was denied the tools to fight a real war. The Biden administration withheld deep-strike weapons and slow-walked air defense deliveries. That decision did more than just hamper Ukraine’s ability to defend itself — it protected Russian war production capacity. Critical targets inside Russia — missile factories, airbases, weapons depots — were effectively placed off-limits. Ukraine was forced to intercept rather than eliminate.

And even that defensive layer was painfully slow to arrive. It took a full year to send the first Patriot battery. Another year passed before Ukraine had just five units. Now it finally has ten. But against a Russian arsenal producing over 130 missiles a month, that’s not enough. Ukraine can’t shield its skies — and until now, it wasn’t allowed to strike the source.

That’s not strategy.

That’s sabotage.

By denying Ukraine long-range strike capability, Washington crippled the logic of Western warfare itself. Western weapons are designed to operate within a combined arms doctrine — where air, land, and long-range assets function as one coordinated force. Take away range, and you leave ground systems isolated and exposed.

Sitting ducks.

The contrast is damning: the U.S. fought Iraq by annihilating its war-making capacity before ever deploying troops. Ukraine has been forced to endure a high-tech invasion without being allowed to reach for the engine room.

For too long, the United States has played for a draw against Putin. But in any game, if you enter with the goal of a draw, you’re setting yourself up to lose. That’s exactly what’s been happening — and the only reason Ukraine is still standing is because of its own ingenuity, not Western strategy.

Until now, Ukraine’s only tool for striking deep into Russia was its long-range drones — slow-moving, lightweight, and underpowered. Most carry less than 200 kilograms of payload, often closer to 100. That’s not enough to cripple hardened military infrastructure. It’s harassment, not disruption.

Taurus changes everything.

Neither the UK nor France has the financial muscle to scale missile production at the speed this moment demands. That’s one reason Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles haven’t been manufactured in volume. France might — and should — tap into the €150 billion EU loan facility announced last week to accelerate SCALP production. But the real potential lies in Germany.

The Taurus KEPD-350 is one of the most advanced missiles in the German Air Force. It has a range of up to 500 kilometers. This means pilots do not need to enter enemy airspace to fire it. After being released, the Taurus KEPD-350 initially drops vertically downward. It then levels out and flies horizontally toward its pre-designated target.

If Merz pushes Taurus production past 100 missiles per month, and if the rest of Europe steps up to steadily strengthen Ukraine’s air force — even one or two fighter jets a month — Russia’s ability to manufacture, store, and project force will take a direct hit.

This decision to lift strike restrictions is historic. But it only opens the door. What comes next will decide whether this is a turning point or just another missed opportunity. Europe must plan — and act — with precision. You can go for a short, intense burst followed by a ground campaign, or commit to a sustained erosion of Russian combat power. Both are viable. But what’s not acceptable is drift.

This changes the equation between Russia and Ukraine. And it’s irreversible.

A full defeat of the Russian imperial war machine is no longer out of reach. Only two things are now required from Europe:

1. Scale Taurus production to wartime levels.

2. Establish a fixed, monthly schedule for delivering fighter jets to Ukraine.

3. It’s not fantasy. It’s entirely doable.

Over to Merz.

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