Ukraine has the right to “project force” beyond its own borders for self-defence, the UK’s Foreign Secretary has said after reports of a drone attack on Moscow.
James Cleverly’s comments came after he gave a speech in Estonia in which he spoke about deterring Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression by “strengthening our collective security”, and made the case for Sweden to swiftly join Nato.
Answering questions from the media afterwards, Cleverly was asked about Tuesday’s drone attack on Moscow and whether Ukraine had the right to attack Russian territory.
He said: “I don’t have details, and I am not going to speculate about the nature of the drone attacks in Moscow. So what I’m about to say are more general points, rather than on that specific incident.
“Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself. It has the legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it does also have the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.
“So legitimate military targets beyond its own border are part of Ukraine’s self-defence. And we should recognise that.
“That is not to say that I have any particular assessment over the attacks in Moscow, but more broadly military targets beyond its own border are internationally recognised as being legitimate as part of a nation’s self-defence.”
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