05:16NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that Ukraine had the right to conduct strikes inside Russian territory using weapons supplied by allies - but without the alliance becoming involved in the conflict - during a press briefing alongside Volodymyr Zelensky at the conclusion of the Summit in Washington DC on Thursday.
"According to international law Ukraine has the right of self-defence and NATO allies have the right to help and uphold Ukraine's right of self-defence without becoming party to the conflict," he claimed. "The right of self-defence includes the right to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of the aggressor Russia."
"Therefore allies have reduced - some allies have not imposed restrictions at all, it varies a bit between allies - but allies have reduced restrictions on the use of the weapons delivered to Ukraine. And this has enabled Ukraine to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of Russia," he continued.
Meanwhile, Zelensky himself called for 'all restrictions' on the use of NATO weaponry to be lifted.
"I spoke about it with partners, with UK leader, with US president, with all of them," he said.
"We understand where they stay, we understand from what military base they attack us. And if they attacked us and killed our children in the hospital that is a crazy question, why we can't answer and attack this ... person, this military base where from these guided bombs ... or missiles came. Targeted us, killed our children. So for me, that's not rhetoric. For me it's a real plan," he said.
Russia strongly denied involvement in the destruction of the hospital referred to by Zelensky, saying that all the available evidence pointed to a Ukrainian air defence missile.
Earlier the UK's new PM Sir Keir Starmer also doubled down on his country's position - first made under the previous administration - that it was up to Kiev how to use the country's Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
Moscow accused him of taking an "irresponsible step towards raising tensions" and has previously accused NATO countries taking a similar line to Stoltenberg of escalating the hostilities and coming into 'direct' conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile Zelensky also spoke about Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's ongoing 'peace mission' which saw the leader visit Ukraine, Russia and China ahead of the NATO Summit.
"Yes he was in Kiev. I didn't know that he will go to Putin, then to China and you said now to [visit] Trump, yes. So what's the question, where he will go tomorrow? I don't know. I don't know, maybe he will come again to Ukraine. I mean, between us, with all respect to everybody, with all respect to all countries, big and small countries, we have to understand that not all the leaders, all the leaders, can make negotiations. You need to have some power for this," he said.
EU leaders also denounced Orban, saying he had 'no mandate', while the leader himself said that "you cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels."
The NATO Summit concludes on Thursday, and has seen allies agree to 40 billion euros for Ukraine over the next year, as well as an 'irreversible path' to membership alongside 'reforms'. According to media reports, Kiev was expected to be told it was still 'too corrupt' to join the alliance at the current time.
Ukraine can 'strike military targets' inside Russia but NATO's not involved - Stoltenberg as Zelensky calls for 'all restrictions' to go
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that Ukraine had the right to conduct strikes inside Russian territory using weapons supplied by allies - but without the alliance becoming involved in the conflict - during a press briefing alongside Volodymyr Zelensky at the conclusion of the Summit in Washington DC on Thursday.
"According to international law Ukraine has the right of self-defence and NATO allies have the right to help and uphold Ukraine's right of self-defence without becoming party to the conflict," he claimed. "The right of self-defence includes the right to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of the aggressor Russia."
"Therefore allies have reduced - some allies have not imposed restrictions at all, it varies a bit between allies - but allies have reduced restrictions on the use of the weapons delivered to Ukraine. And this has enabled Ukraine to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of Russia," he continued.
Meanwhile, Zelensky himself called for 'all restrictions' on the use of NATO weaponry to be lifted.
"I spoke about it with partners, with UK leader, with US president, with all of them," he said.
"We understand where they stay, we understand from what military base they attack us. And if they attacked us and killed our children in the hospital that is a crazy question, why we can't answer and attack this ... person, this military base where from these guided bombs ... or missiles came. Targeted us, killed our children. So for me, that's not rhetoric. For me it's a real plan," he said.
Russia strongly denied involvement in the destruction of the hospital referred to by Zelensky, saying that all the available evidence pointed to a Ukrainian air defence missile.
Earlier the UK's new PM Sir Keir Starmer also doubled down on his country's position - first made under the previous administration - that it was up to Kiev how to use the country's Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
Moscow accused him of taking an "irresponsible step towards raising tensions" and has previously accused NATO countries taking a similar line to Stoltenberg of escalating the hostilities and coming into 'direct' conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile Zelensky also spoke about Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's ongoing 'peace mission' which saw the leader visit Ukraine, Russia and China ahead of the NATO Summit.
"Yes he was in Kiev. I didn't know that he will go to Putin, then to China and you said now to [visit] Trump, yes. So what's the question, where he will go tomorrow? I don't know. I don't know, maybe he will come again to Ukraine. I mean, between us, with all respect to everybody, with all respect to all countries, big and small countries, we have to understand that not all the leaders, all the leaders, can make negotiations. You need to have some power for this," he said.
EU leaders also denounced Orban, saying he had 'no mandate', while the leader himself said that "you cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels."
The NATO Summit concludes on Thursday, and has seen allies agree to 40 billion euros for Ukraine over the next year, as well as an 'irreversible path' to membership alongside 'reforms'. According to media reports, Kiev was expected to be told it was still 'too corrupt' to join the alliance at the current time.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that Ukraine had the right to conduct strikes inside Russian territory using weapons supplied by allies - but without the alliance becoming involved in the conflict - during a press briefing alongside Volodymyr Zelensky at the conclusion of the Summit in Washington DC on Thursday.
"According to international law Ukraine has the right of self-defence and NATO allies have the right to help and uphold Ukraine's right of self-defence without becoming party to the conflict," he claimed. "The right of self-defence includes the right to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of the aggressor Russia."
"Therefore allies have reduced - some allies have not imposed restrictions at all, it varies a bit between allies - but allies have reduced restrictions on the use of the weapons delivered to Ukraine. And this has enabled Ukraine to strike legitimate military targets on the territory of Russia," he continued.
Meanwhile, Zelensky himself called for 'all restrictions' on the use of NATO weaponry to be lifted.
"I spoke about it with partners, with UK leader, with US president, with all of them," he said.
"We understand where they stay, we understand from what military base they attack us. And if they attacked us and killed our children in the hospital that is a crazy question, why we can't answer and attack this ... person, this military base where from these guided bombs ... or missiles came. Targeted us, killed our children. So for me, that's not rhetoric. For me it's a real plan," he said.
Russia strongly denied involvement in the destruction of the hospital referred to by Zelensky, saying that all the available evidence pointed to a Ukrainian air defence missile.
Earlier the UK's new PM Sir Keir Starmer also doubled down on his country's position - first made under the previous administration - that it was up to Kiev how to use the country's Storm Shadow long-range missiles.
Moscow accused him of taking an "irresponsible step towards raising tensions" and has previously accused NATO countries taking a similar line to Stoltenberg of escalating the hostilities and coming into 'direct' conflict with Russia.
Meanwhile Zelensky also spoke about Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's ongoing 'peace mission' which saw the leader visit Ukraine, Russia and China ahead of the NATO Summit.
"Yes he was in Kiev. I didn't know that he will go to Putin, then to China and you said now to [visit] Trump, yes. So what's the question, where he will go tomorrow? I don't know. I don't know, maybe he will come again to Ukraine. I mean, between us, with all respect to everybody, with all respect to all countries, big and small countries, we have to understand that not all the leaders, all the leaders, can make negotiations. You need to have some power for this," he said.
EU leaders also denounced Orban, saying he had 'no mandate', while the leader himself said that "you cannot make peace from a comfortable armchair in Brussels."
The NATO Summit concludes on Thursday, and has seen allies agree to 40 billion euros for Ukraine over the next year, as well as an 'irreversible path' to membership alongside 'reforms'. According to media reports, Kiev was expected to be told it was still 'too corrupt' to join the alliance at the current time.