By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West and members of the NATO military alliance that they will be “at war with Russia” if Ukraine is given the green light to use long-range missiles on targets inside his country.
Putin made the threat before Friday’s meeting between him and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss Ukraine’s possible use of British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Russian soil.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a three-nation tour that put the issue of permitting Kyiv to use long-range missiles back on the table during a Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland on Thursday.
“It would mean that NATO countries, the U.S., European countries, are at war with Russia,” Putin told Russian state TV on Thursday. “If that’s the case, then taking into account the change of nature of the conflict, we will take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face.”
“Russia started this conflict,” Starmer responded, speaking to journalists on board his flight to the United States. “Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away.”
Any guidelines agreed upon for the British weapons at the two-hour summit in Washington could also then pave the way for the Ukrainians to fire U.S.-supplied ATACMS — a tactical ballistic missile system — at airfields and army bases deep inside Russia, according to experts familiar with the talks.
RUSSIA’S REACTION
Russian government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested the meeting between Starmer and Biden was a mere formality and that a deal had already been done, vowing Russia’s response “will be appropriate.”
Ukraine’s American allies have long resisted giving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the green light to use their long-range ballistics against the Kremlin’s forces inside Russia, fearing Moscow could then escalate the war by retaliating against a target inside NATO, such as the critical weapons supply hub in the Polish city of Rzeszów.
Yet opinions are changing after a reported large shipment of Iranian missiles to Russia that the British authorities fear will offer a critical firepower boost to Putin.
Tehran’s apparent support comes just as his army extends its grip in eastern Ukraine with advances on the strategic city of Pokrovsk.
However, critics have accused NATO of saber-rattling that could lead to a broader war involving the U.S. and Russia, which are both nuclear superpowers.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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