Putin warns NATO not to make its biggest mistake

The decision to use Western long-range weapons to strike Russia "would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are waging war against Russia," President Vladimir Putin said.

Photo: en.kremlin.ru by Presidential Executive Office of Russia, CC BY 4.0

Ukraine is not capable of carrying out such strikes on its own. This can be done with the help of reconnaissance data from NATO satellites, which Ukraine does not have. It is only NATO military personnel who can be involved with such flight missions, he noted.

"We are talking about a decision on whether NATO countries are directly participating in the military conflict or not," the president said.

According to Putin, if the decision is made, it will change the very essence, the nature of the conflict, and it will mean that NATO countries will go to war against Russia.

"And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us," he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked Western partners to let Ukraine use long-range Western weapons for strikes deep inside Russia, explaining it by military necessity. However, the United States limited Kyiv in this opportunity; the White House emphasized that Washington's position on the matter remained unchanged.

On September 11, The Guardian reported citing sources in the British government that London decided to allow Ukraine to strike targets in Russia with Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

• Ukraine already uses Western arms for strikes deep into Russia, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov said in early summer of 2024.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in May that American weapons were already being used for strikes outside the combat zone.
• During the invasion of the Kursk region, the Ukrainian military used British Challenger 2 tanks, Sky News reported.
• The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported attempts to attack Crimea with Storm Shadow missiles. In addition, Ukraine shells the city of Belgorod by firing rockets from Czech-made RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket systems.

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber (Latin for 'a mind unfettered in deliberation'). The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence.