Russian President Vladimir Putin says if the West lets Ukraine use long-range precision weapons to strike targets deep in Russian territory, this means NATO is entering the war.
Putin warned that he would see such a move as meaning NATO countries, including the US and European nations, are fighting with Russia, which would change the nature of the war.
“We will make appropriate decisions based on the threats we will be exposed to,” he said in response to a question from a journalist in St Petersburg, without providing further details.
Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, claiming Russia is threatened by Kiev’s aim of joining NATO.
While Ukraine depends heavily on Western support in seeking to fend off Moscow’s troops, Western countries insist they – and NATO – are not at war with, or threatening Russia.
But Kiev has repeatedly called on the US and Britain to allow Ukrainian forces to use long-range missiles deep in Russian territory to disrupt Russian logistics and attack military airfields far behind the frontline.
So far, the US has only given Kiev permission to use its munitions to strike inside Russian territory if the targets are just across the border from the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
The British government has not yet commented on exactly what Ukraine may do with the weapons it provides.
