Final talks are underway on whether Ukraine will be allowed to conduct long-range strikes using Western weapons. Strikes deep inside Russia, far from the front lines, could change the dynamics of the war. Vladimir Putin knows this, of course, and on Thursday he warned that if Kiev’s forces carry out such a strike, it would mean the West would find itself in a direct confrontation with Russia. Moscow would be forced to make, as Putin put it, “the right decisions” in the face of new threats.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has for months been urging Kiev’s allies to allow Ukraine to launch Western missiles, including American long-range ATACMS missiles and British Storm Shadowdeep into Russian territory, which would limit Moscow’s ability to carry out strikes. Experts suggest that if Ukraine created such a threat, it would force Moscow to completely change the logistics system for delivering equipment to the front.
On Russian state television, Vladimir Putin stated that such a move by Ukrainians would directly involve the countries that supply Kiev with long-range missiles in the war. The Russian president justified this by saying that Kiev does not have the ability to target satellites and plan missile routes. In the event of an attack deep inside Russia, all data would have to be provided by NATO military personnel.
It is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to attack Russia with these weapons. It is a question of deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved in an armed conflict – Putin said and added: If this decision is taken, it will mean nothing other than the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine. This will be your direct participation and, of course, it will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.
Russia will be forced to act “correct decisions in the face of new threats” – admitted the president, without specifying which measures could be involved.
Reuters suggests that Putin may have in mind the possibility of arming Western enemies with Russian weapons that could strike Western targets abroad. In June, Reuters recalls, he spoke of putting conventional missiles within reach of the United States and its European allies.
Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, is also in the process of reviewing its nuclear doctrine, that is, considering the limiting circumstances under which Moscow would use nuclear weapons. Vladimir Putin is under pressure from influential hardliners such as Sergei Karaganovwhich demands the introduction of a nuclear readiness clause against countries that “support NATO aggression in Ukraine”.
The West has been debating for months whether to allow Kiev to use long-range weapons to attack Russia. The dynamics of these considerations changed when it emerged that Iran had supplied ballistic missiles to Russia, opening a new chapter in the escalating conflict.
According to unconfirmed information from the British “The Guardian”, the allies have already agreed that Ukrainians will be able to strike deep into Russia with missiles. Shadow of the Storm.
