Has Ukraine the right to attack Moscow in retaliation?

The drone attack on a target in Moscow on 30 May 2023 “appeared to demonstrate” Ukraine’s growing capabilities to strike deep beyond enemy lines in Russia.

President Putin has accused Ukraine of “terrorist activity for provoking a tit for tat measure,” said: The Guardian. Although Moscow did not say how it would respond? The drone strike came as Russia launched another wave of aerial attack on Kyiv, the 4th in recent days. It killed at least one person, hospitalised others forcing the evacuation of a Kyiv high rise building. According to Kyiv, 11 ballistic and cruise missiles at 11.30 a.m. Kyiv time 30th May, rained down and all of them were shot down.

                                                          

UK Foreign Secretary’s James Cleverly commented while visiting his counterpart in Tallinn, Estonia before the NATO meeting in Oslo, Norway stated; Ukraine has the legitimate right to defend itself. It has the right to project force beyond its borders for self-defence”. He went on to say: “I don’t have details and I am going to speculate about the nature of the drone attack in Moscow. So what I am about to say are more general points, rather than on the specific incident. Ukraine does have the legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course. But it does also have the right “to project force” beyond. So legitimate military targets beyond its own borders are part of Ukraine’s defence. And we should recognise that. That is not to say that I have any particular assessment on the attack in Moscow”.

This is what I call British diplomatic jargon. Whilst this was mouthed, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky stated: “Ukraine was pleased to watch Moscow drone attacks, but deny they were from Ukraine.” The war of words is juxtaposed with heavy fighting inside parts of Ukraine bordering Russia. Now that spring has sprung and the thick ice in rivers have melted, it is “war without end.” When will it end is the big question on the minds of many around the world. Some African nations including South Africa, are proposing to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, so does the EU nation, Belgium. We will have to wait and see if sanity prevails?

 Victor Cherubim