Published 14 September 2024 at 11.56
Foreign. Right now, Western countries are considering allowing Ukraine to use long-range robots to attack targets deep inside Russia. But if that happens, it means that Russia is at war with NATO, the United States and European countries, explains the country's president Vladimir Putin.
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It looks like such as a decision on long-range robots being what could ultimately draw NATO, Europe and the US into Ukraine's war against Russia.
Several countries, including Canada, support allowing Ukraine to use such robots, but at the same time The Kremlin clearly states that such an action will trigger a war between the NATO countries and Russia.
In an interview, Vladimir Putin explains that the current weapons systems cannot be used by Ukraine alone, which lacks the satellite infrastructure necessary to navigate the robots to their targets in Russia. The attacks must therefore be carried out with the help of NATO.
– Firstly, the Ukrainian army does not have the ability to use modern long-range Western-made weapons to attack targets inside Russia. They can only do it with the help of satellites from the EU or the US, usually NATO countries, says Putin and continues:
– Second, flight missions for these systems can only be entered by military personnel in NATO countries. Ukrainian military cannot do that. So it's not about whether or not to allow the Ukrainian regime to attack Russia with these weapons. This is about making a decision on whether or not NATO countries will participate directly in the military conflict, Putin says.
If the US and Great Britain approve this, it will only mean one thing, according to Putin.
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– This means that NATO, the United States and European countries are at war with Russia.
On Friday, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, emphasized that Russia was serious about what was said on Thursday.
– The statement that Putin made yesterday is very important. It is extremely clear, unambiguous and does not allow for any double interpretations. And we know that this statement has reached its addressees.
While Germany has completely ruled out allowing Ukraine to use weapons systems for attacks inside Russia, the US and UK are still hesitant. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for his part, is clear about what he wants to see.
– And, yes, Canada is all for letting Ukraine use long-range robots to respond to Russian attacks, which are mostly against civilians, says Justin Trudeau.
President Biden discussed the issue during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington on Friday. Before the meeting, Biden told reporters:
– I don't care that much about Vladimir Putin, when he was asked about the Russian president's statement.
But after the meeting, the tone was lower, when it became clear that the US and Britain did not agree to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons, which led to disappointment in Western circles.
– Putin says things like this to achieve the result that it will deter us from doing things – not because it has any bearing on what he really plans to do or what he really thinks, says Kurt Volker, a former US diplomat during the negotiations on Ukraine, to the BBC.