Putin warns of direct NATO involvement if Ukraine uses long-range missiles
Putin warned on Thursday that if the West permits Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range missiles, it would "mean nothing other than the direct participation of Nato countries - the US and European countries - in the war." "We will take corresponding decisions based on the threats that will be created to us," he added.
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On Thursday in Saint Petersburg, Putin was asked by journalists what it would mean if the West approved the use of long-range missiles to attack targets in Russia.
"This isn’t about allowing or banning the Kyiv regime from striking Russian territory. It does that already with drones and by other means. But when we talk about high-precision, long-range weapons made in the West this is a completely different matter... The Ukrainian army is not able to strike with modern, high-decision, long-range systems. It can’t do this," said Putin. "It is only possible with intelligence data from satellites that Ukraine doesn’t have, data that’s only from satellites of the European Union, the USA, Nato satellites," he emphasised.
According to him, Ukrainians are not capable of using Western long-range weapons to attack targets in Russia on their own. They need intelligence data from satellites, which Ukraine does not have. Therefore, they would need to obtain it from American or European satellites. "Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this. Therefore this is not about permitting or not permitting the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons," he argued.
According to Putin, the discussion is not about whether to grant Ukraine permission to use Western long-range weapons, but whether NATO should directly get involved in this conflict.
"[If such a decision is made], it would mean nothing other than the direct participation of Nato countries - the US and European countries - in the war in Ukraine. It is their direct participation. And, of course, this substantially changes the very essence, the nature of the conflict. It would mean that Nato countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia," Putin said.
"If that is the case, we will take corresponding decisions based on the threats that will be created to us," he added.
The debate in the West continues
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long been appealing to the United States and other Western allies to agree to allow Ukrainian forces to use the long-range missiles provided to them to strike targets deep within Russia, to increase pressure on Moscow and force it to end the war.
Washington has so far refused to issue such permission, fearing an escalation that could lead to a direct conflict with Russia. However, on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised to urgently consider Ukraine's military requests in Kyiv.
The AFP agency reminds us that US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are due to hold talks on this matter on Friday.
The United States delivered a small number of ATACMS systems to Ukraine in September last year. These systems have a range of about 170 miles.
