Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that NATO allowing Ukraine to use longer-range missiles to strike inside his country would be seen by Moscow as the military alliance's direct entry into the war.
Putin’s comments come as US and
Western governments appear increasingly open to the possibility of lifting
restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-provided long-range weapons systems, which
Kyiv has openly asked for, more than two years into Russia’s invasion.
“This will mean that NATO countries – the
United States and European countries – are at war with Russia,” Putin told
reporters on Thursday, September 12
“And if this is the case, then, bearing in
mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate
decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us,” Putin added.
Putin also raised doubts about
whether Kyiv could carry out long-range strikes alone, saying “the Ukrainian
army is not capable of using cutting-edge high-precision long-range systems
supplied by the West” without NATO assistance in targeting.
The United States already
provides intelligence to Ukraine and has previously assisted in the targeting,
although not with the long-range systems currently being considered.
Although the US has shifted its
policy to allow limited cross-border strikes into Russia using US-provided
weapons, President Joe Biden’s administration has yet to allow longer-range
strikes.
During a recent visit to Kyiv,
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered the strongest suggestion that the
White House could lift restrictions in line with a strategic shift.
“From day one, as you heard me say, we have
adjusted and adapted as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed, and
I have no doubt that we’ll continue to do that as this evolves,” Blinken said,
alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Britain’s Foreign
Secretary David Lammy.
Blinken said he discussed the
restrictions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and would report back
to President Biden.
Biden is facing pressure at
home from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to ease the restrictions as
Ukraine struggles to consolidate its advances in the Kursk region of Russia.
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