MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had delivered a clear message to the West about the consequences it will face if it allows Ukraine to hit Russian territory with Western long-range missiles.
The warning came as the leaders of Britain and the United States meet on Friday in Washington on whether to let Kyiv fire Western-provided long-range missiles into Russia — an option that has sent tensions soaring with Moscow.
Putin said on Thursday that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.
“The statement made by President Putin yesterday is very important. It is extremely clear, unambiguous and does not allow for double readings. We have no doubt that this statement reached those it was intended for,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with Kyiv’s allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles, including long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows, deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.
Zelensky said on Friday that he will meet US President Joe Biden “this month” to present his “victory plan” on how to end two and a half years of war with Russia.
He also said Kyiv’s recent offensive into Russia’s border region of Kursk had “slowed” Moscow’s advance in eastern Ukraine and that there are currently 40,000 Russian troops fighting in the area.
But he accused the West of being too “afraid” to even raise the possibility of shooting down Russian missiles and Iranian drones, even though it was helping Israel to do so.
President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will discuss whether to give the go-ahead for such strikes at talks in Washington on Friday.
Putin said on Thursday that such a move would drag the countries supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles directly into the war. He said satellite targeting data and programming of the missiles’ flight paths would have to be provided by Nato military personnel, as Kyiv did not have the capabilities itself.