Ukraine’s hands are tied because of the restrictions placed on it regarding the use of Western weapons on Russian soil, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today from Sofia.

“This ties the Ukrainians’ hands behind their backs and makes it very difficult for them to guarantee their defense,” Stoltenberg noted at the opening of a NATO meeting in the Bulgarian capital.

Many countries that supply weapons to Ukraine allow it to use them only on its soil, including Crimea — which Moscow annexed in 2014 — and the Donbass, barring it from hitting targets on Russian soil.

“I think the time has come to review some of these restrictions,” Stoltenberg later told reporters on the sidelines of the NATO parliamentary assembly.

Kiev “has the right to defend itself” and consequently “the right to strike legitimate, military targets outside Ukraine,” he insisted.

The NATO secretary general has previously called for the lifting of Western restrictions.

But, as he underlined today, the decision will be made by the Allies. Some have not imposed restrictions, but others have, he added, without elaborating.

The US, a key supplier of military aid to Ukraine, and some European countries, such as Germany, appear wary of providing weapons to Kiev without any restrictions.

However, during his visit to Kiev on May 15, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken estimated that the final decision on the use of the weapons it receives will be taken by Ukraine.

“We have not encouraged strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately it is Ukraine that will make its own decisions about how it conducts this war,” Blinken had pointed out.

Russia regularly warns the West against any attack on its soil with Western weapons.