President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Russia might supply long-range weapons to other nations to target Western locations, in retaliation for NATO allies permitting Ukraine to use their arms against Russian territory.
President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Russia might supply long-range weapons to other nations to target Western locations, in retaliation for NATO allies permitting Ukraine to use their arms against Russian territory.
Putin also reiterated Moscow's preparedness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceives a threat to its sovereignty.
He stated that recent Western actions would further destabilize international security and could lead to "very serious problems." This statement was made during a rare session where he took questions from international journalists, a rarity since Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.
“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin added.
Putin is right, proxy wars are a two way street.
If the West supplies long-range weapons to Ukraine for attacks against Russia, then Russia can also supply weapons to the West’s enemies. There are a lot of potential candidates, especially in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/ufjwoS06t9
The United States and Germany have recently given Ukraine the green light to strike specific targets on Russian soil using the long-range weapons they are providing to Kyiv.
A Western official and a US senator disclosed on Wednesday that Ukraine has utilized US weapons to attack inside Russia under newly approved guidance from President Joe Biden. This guidance permits American arms to be used for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The official, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, was not authorized to comment publicly.
Putin alleged that the use of certain Western-supplied weapons involves military personnel from those countries controlling the missiles and selecting targets. As a result, he warned that Moscow might take “asymmetrical” actions elsewhere in the world. The US military, however, stated that it does not control the missiles it provides to Ukraine or determine their targets.
“If they consider it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of the countries that do it to Russia?” he said.
“We will think about it,” he told the journalists on the sidelines of the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
When asked if Russia might resort to using nuclear arms, Putin responded that the conditions for deploying such weapons are clearly outlined in Moscow’s security doctrine.
“For some reason, they believe in the West that Russia will never use it,” he said.
“Look at what is written there,” he said of Russia’s nuclear doctrine. “If somebody’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible to use all means at our disposal.”
Putin stated that even Russia’s battlefield nuclear weapons are significantly more powerful than those the US used against Japan in World War II.