Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning on Wednesday, stating that Russia could deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies if they permit Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.
During his first face-to-face meeting with senior editors of international news agencies since the onset of the war in Ukraine, Putin emphasized that the West’s assumption that Russia would never use nuclear weapons is misguided. He asserted that the Kremlin’s nuclear doctrine should be taken seriously.
Putin addressed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s recent calls to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory. While differentiating between various types of missiles, Putin cautioned that enabling Kyiv to attack Russia with increasingly powerful weapons is a significant escalation, potentially drawing the West into a direct conflict with Russia.
Russia’s response, according to the 71-year-old Kremlin chief, would involve shooting down Western missiles, specifically mentioning U.S. ATACMS, and British and French missile systems. Putin also revealed that Moscow is considering deploying similar high-technology, long-range missiles close enough to target states that enable Ukraine to strike Russian territory with such missiles.
“If we see that these countries are being drawn into a war against the Russian Federation, then we reserve the right to act in the same way. In general, this is a path to very serious problems,” Putin stated, without providing specifics on potential missile deployment locations.
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