Moscow's retaliation will be in effect should Ukraine strike deep into Russia

If Western countries give Ukraine a go-ahead for strikes deep into Russian territory using long-range Western missiles, Moscow's response will already be in effect, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, TASS reports.

"As soon as it [the decision] is made, if it is made, we will find out about it, and the mechanism that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin mentioned will already be in effect," Lavrov said.

Earlier, Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Grushko warned that permission for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike deep into Russia could change the nature of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian president noted that strikes with the use of Western long-range weapons on Russian territory would mean NATO's direct involvement in the conflict. According to him, such a decision by the West would change "the entire nature of the conflict," and Russia "will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for the country."

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Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as the foreign minister of Russia since 2004. He is the longest-serving foreign minister since the Tsarist era. Lavrov served as the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004.