“We will make appropriate decisions based on the threats created against us,” says the president
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has stated this Thursday that if the Western countries lift the long-range weapons ban so that Ukraine can attack Russian territory, this will mean “direct involvement” of the NATO countries in the conflict, so Russia will be “at war” with the West.
“NATO countries are now not only discussing the possible use by Kiev of Western long-range weapons, but they are making the decision of whether to get directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict or not,” he stressed in statements to the press.
Putin has recalled that, if this happens, “the very essence” of the conflict will have changed. “We will make appropriate decisions based on the threats created against us,” he said, according to the TASS news agency.
The president also indicated that this Western weaponry can only be used “by military personnel from NATO countries” and that Ukraine cannot attack Russian territory without the satellites of the European Union or the United States.
His words come after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this morning that the decision to authorize Kiev to use this type of weaponry “was taken a long time ago and now they are simply trying to formalize it in the public space.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the “constant and strong support” of Kiev’s main partners during a joint meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Minister David Lammy.
During their meeting, the president insisted on the need for the country to obtain “as soon as possible” permission to use long-range weapons with the aim of attacking Russian territory, a demand that he has made on numerous occasions in recent months.
