The Kremlin has said that it has noted that some Western nations’ statements allowing Ukraine to use weapons that they had provided can be used to hit targets deep inside Russia. The comments were made at this week’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit held in Washington DC. Russia has called the move a dangerous escalation.
Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak on Thursday called for an end to restrictions imposed on the use of allied-supplied weapons against targets deep inside Russia, saying it would be a “game-changer” in fighting Moscow.
“We see statements by representatives of some capitals, London and so on, who do not see any restrictions in this regard, and we see countries that are trying to keep the balance and say that they are against such easing of the terms for the use of long-range missiles,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said that Moscow believed such weapons were already being used to strike Russian soil.
“But in the end, the main thing is that these missiles are already hitting our territory… As for increasing this distance, this is pure provocation, a new, very dangerous escalation of tension,” Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it very clear that western nations supplying long-range weapons is a ‘dangerous step’. Putin stated that his country would respond against western targets. This at a time when a Russian strike in the northern part of Ukraine is losing steam. U.S. President Biden had recently cleared the use of American weapons to hit targets in Russia to reduce pressure on Ukrainian forces defending the northern city of Kharkiv.
In his warning, Russian President Putin stated that his country too could provide weapons to forces that are currently fighting the West. France and Russia are currently going head-to- head in Northwest Africa.
(With inputs from Reuters)
