The Kremlin scolded NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday for suggesting alliance members should let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with Western weapons, and said it was clear that NATO was in a direct confrontation with Russia.

Stoltenberg told The Economist that NATO members supplying weapons to Ukraine should end their prohibition on using them to strike military targets in Russia.

"NATO is increasing the degree of escalation," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian daily Izvestia when asked about Stoltenberg's remarks.

"NATO is flirting with military rhetoric and falling into military ecstasy," Peskov said, adding that the Russian military knew what to do.

When asked if NATO was approaching a direct confrontation with Russia, Peskov said: "They are not getting close; they are in it."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned the West that it is risking a global war over Ukraine and that a direct conflict between Russia and NATO would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three.

Russian officials say Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia, including on civilian areas and even parts of Russia's nuclear defences, are directly escalatory.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 touched off the worst breakdown in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Russia is now advancing along the front line in Ukraine.

The United States has repeatedly said that it does not encourage Ukraine to strike inside Russia, though Ukraine has been lobbying hard to do so.

The Economist said that Stoltenberg's remarks were clearly aimed at U.S. President Joe Biden, who has resisted allowing Ukraine to strike with U.S. weapons inside Russia.

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NATO: members should allow Ukraine to use Western weapons in Russia

NATO has called on its member states to authorize Ukraine to use Western weapons against military targets in Russia during a spring session in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Monday.

NATO's Parliamentary Assembly (PA) adopted a corresponding declaration vowing support of Ukraine until victory is achieved.

The time has come to lift some restrictions on the use of the weapons provided, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg cited the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, where the front line and the border with Russia more or less coincided, as an example of a possible use of Western weapons.

Ukraine would be weaker if NATO members continued to support it only halfway, warned the president of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly, Michał Szczerba from Poland.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov appealed in a video message for the allies to close the airspace over western Ukraine with their air-defence systems.

Umerov reiterated that his country was striving for full NATO membership.

Parliamentarians from NATO member countries and partner states took part in the PA spring meeting. A delegation from the German Bundestag also travelled to Sofia.

Stoltenberg named three topics for the upcoming NATO summit in Washington in July: improving the defence capabilities of member states, support for Ukraine and global partnerships with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

The Parliamentary Assembly also called for the creation of a centre at NATO headquarters in Brussels to combat disinformation.

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Frustrated EU ministers urge Hungary to stop blocking military aid to Ukraine

European Union foreign ministers urged Hungary on Monday to stop blocking measures to provide billions of euros in military aid to Ukraine, as long-simmering tension with Budapest boiled over.

Even before a meeting of the EU's 27 foreign ministers began, Lithuania's top diplomat Gabrielius Landsbergis accused Hungary of systematically blocking EU foreign policy positions.

"Almost all of our discussions and needed solutions and decisions by (the) EU are being blocked by just one country," he told reporters as he arrived at the meeting in Brussels.

"We have to start seeing this as a systematic approach towards any efforts by (the) EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs."

Estonia and Italy also expressed dissatisfaction before the meeting with Budapest's blocking tactics. Diplomats say Hungary's stance is often in line with Russia's interests but Budapest insists it is advocating for peace.

Inside the room, diplomats said, ministers vented their frustration and called on Hungarian colleague Peter Szijjarto to lift Budapest's blocks on measures that amount to some 6.5 billion euros ($7.06 billion) in military aid to Ukraine to help fight Russia's invasion.

"Tempers ran quite high," said one diplomat briefed on the discussions. Multiple officials said the exchanges were among the most heated in years among EU foreign ministers.

EU decisions on foreign policy require the unanimous backing of all 27 member states.

In comments on Facebook, Szijjarto said: "German, Irish, Polish colleagues created a scene, but that could not change our position, regardless of what the war-favouring politicians are shouting."

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Lithuania's Landsbergis said Hungary was blocking decisions on EU military aid to Ukraine, the start of EU membership talks for Kyiv, and on Georgia and Armenia.

"We looked into this and apparently about 41% of resolutions by (the) EU on Ukraine have been blocked by Hungary," he said.

"It has gone very, very far," Landsbergis added. "We have to find a way, really, as a community to work around this."

Diplomats say Budapest is blocking a variety of measures linked to the European Peace Facility (EPF), an EU-backed fund that has provided billions of euros in military aid to Ukraine.

"This is crucial now for Ukraine, and also for Europe, to use these EPF funds," Estonian Foreign Margus Tsahkna said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters: "We are against the blocking. We want to move on."

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'It has gone very far:' EU countries voice exasperation over Hungary's vetoes on Ukraine aid

Foreign affairs ministers of the European Union did not mince words on Monday when expressing their exasperation about Hungary's long-running veto on military assistance for Ukraine, covering €6.5 billion.

"It has gone very, very far," said Lithuania's Gabrielius Landsbergis.

The blockage began a year ago when Budapest refused to endorse a €500-million tranche under the European Peace Facility (EPF), an off-budget tool that allows member states to obtain partial reimbursements for the military equipment they send to Kyiv.

The dispute, which has caused a great deal of frustration among EU diplomats, was exacerbated after member states reached in March a hard-fought deal to top up the EPF with an additional €5 billion, designed to be rolled out until the end of the year.

Hungary's veto on the €500-million envelope has affected two others of the same size, amounting to €1.5 billion in total. The impasse also means the next €5 billion cannot move forward, creating an across-the-board obstruction of EU aid. As a result, countries have shifted to bilateral donations that bypass Brussels.

The delays have become an embarrassment for the bloc, as Ukraine battles a new hard-hitting offensive by Russian troops in the northeast region and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleads with the West to step up supplies of weapons and ammunition.

On Saturday, Russian air strikes against a supermarket in Kharkiv killed at least 16 people and left 65 injured, according to local authorities.

Frustration grows

"We cannot accept that a single country, which also signed in favour of this amount a few months ago during a summit between heads of state, is now blocking this crucial aid for Ukraine," said Belgium's Hadja Lahbib, upon arriving at the meeting.

"We must absolutely assume our responsibilities and do what is necessary to help Ukraine militarily," she added.

Her Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna, said that "every time" ministers come to Brussels, they are faced with Hungary's vetoes on "very important initiatives."

"We have to take down the (blockage) in the meaning that we have to convince Hungary. But it's crucial that Ukraine needs this kind of support," Tsahkna told reporters.

Latvia's Baiba Braže said the EU's political unity should translate into "actual, practical deliverables" and lamented a "number of issues" being held up in the Council.

"We expect those member states to relent," she said.

Lithuania's Landsbergis delivered the most scathing assessment, decrying the Hungarian attitude as a "systematic approach towards any efforts by the EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs." The minister referred to Ukraine's accession process and Georgia's "foreign influence" law as instances in which Budapest attempted to derail collective decisions.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has defied the Western consensus by conducting overt Russian-friendly policy and demanding concessions to water down sanctions.

"It's not case by case. And we have to start talking about this," Landsbergis said. "I know that in some cases it might look as a non-diplomatic thing to do because, you know, we're kind people and polite people."

'A problem of human lives'

The reasons for the veto have baffled officials in Brussels. Budapest initially refused to approve the €500-million tranche because Ukraine's anti-corruption agency had blacklisted Hungary's OTP Bank as an "international sponsor of war."

The designation infuriated Orbán's government and triggered a spat between Budapest and Kyiv, with Brussels awkwardly caught in the middle.

OTP Bank was eventually removed from the name-shaming catalogue but Hungary kept its veto firmly in place, arguing it needed unconditional guarantees it would not happen again. On Monday, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó upped the ante and claimed Hungarian companies were "systematically discriminated against" in Ukraine.

Szijjártó acknowledged a "huge row" with his German, Lithuanian, Irish and Polish colleagues had taken place during the meeting and vowed to stand his ground.

"We continue to insist on the need to make peace, to stop the senseless killing and to prevent the escalation of this war, so we have not and will not contribute to the release of another €6.5 billion to finance arms shipments to Ukraine," he said.

Diplomats have rolled their eyes at Hungary's reasoning, which they see as capricious and unfounded. They now fear the EPF obstruction could derail the new agreement to use the extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia's immobilised assets.

The project could raise between €2.5 billion and €3 billion annually, 90% of which would go into supplies of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine.

While Budapest did not block the legal deal on immobilised assets, it could still use its veto power to thwart the release of fresh money.

At the end of Monday's meeting, Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, said that any move should be "proportional with the issue at stake" and called on Hungary to break the gridlock, which has led to "seven legal texts pending of approval." He noted that Budapest had secured an "opt-out" clause to ensure its national contributions would not finance any sort of military equipment bound to Kyiv.

"We cannot let the European Union's military support for Ukraine be taken hostage by other decisions which have nothing to do with this specific issue," Borrell said.

"Ukraine needs the arms now, not next year," he went on. "This delay can be measured in terms of human lives. It's not a financial problem. It's a problem of human lives."

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Estonian FM: Hungary 'under great pressure' to explain EU obstruction

Hungary came "under great pressure" to explain their continued obstruction of EU military aid for Ukraine at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Monday.

Budapest is blocking reimbursements from the European Peace Facility (EPF), an off-budget fund used for military equipment, as well as payments from the profits of immobilized Russian assets in the European Union, Tsahkna said in an interview with dpa.

"We have always topics with Hungary," he said, referencing previous disputes about financial aid for Ukraine and opening EU entry negotiations with the country. "But now we have to deliver."

Currently €1.5 billion ($1.63 billion) from the EPF is blocked by Hungary. A further €5 billion from the Ukraine Assistance Fund, a specific sum of €5 billion from the EPF, is also blocked.

Tsahkna noted the growing exasperation among EU countries. Nobody understands the reason "why they're blocking" now, he said.

Frustration was clearly on display among EU foreign ministers in Brussels with Hungary's continued blockade on EU decisions requiring unaminity.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that "apparently, about 41% of resolutions by EU on Ukraine have been blocked by Hungary."

"We have to start seeing this as a systematic approach towards any efforts by [the] EU to have any meaningful role in foreign affairs," he said.

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said the bloc can not let EU military support to Ukraine be taken hostage "of other decisions which [have] nothing to do with the specific issue."

Hungary has previously linked EU aid for Ukraine with the disbursement of EU funds for Budapest, which had been frozen over corruption and abuse of power allegations.

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