President Putin Reminds the West Not to Let Ukraine Use Its Missiles to Attack Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Source: Sergei Bobylev RIA Novosti)

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries on Tuesday that NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members in Europe were playing with fire by proposing that Ukraine use Western weapons to attack deep inside Russian territory, which he said could trigger a global conflict.

"Continuous escalation could have serious consequences," President Putin told journalists in Tashkent, reported by Reuters, May 29.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Economist that alliance members should let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with Western weapons, a view supported by some NATO members but not by the United States. Although, later he left it back to the discretion of each member.

"If these serious consequences were to occur in Europe, how would the United States behave, given our equality in the field of strategic weapons?" ask.

"It's hard to say, do they want global conflict?" continued President Putin.

The Kremlin leader further said that Ukraine's attack on Russia with long-range weapons requires Western satellite, intelligence, and military assistance, so the West will be directly involved.

He said sending French troops to Ukraine would be a step towards a global conflict.

Speaking about NATO members in Europe, President Putin said small countries there "must be aware of what they are playing at", as they have small land areas and very dense populations.

"This is a factor they must keep in mind before talking about deep attacks on Russian territory," stressed President Putin.

It is known that since the invasion in February 2022, Russia, which controls 18 percent of Ukraine's territory, has advanced and opened a new front in the Kharkiv region, sparking debate in the West about what else it can do after providing aid, weapons, and intelligence worth hundreds of billions of dollars to Kyiv.

Western and Ukrainian leaders have downplayed Russian warnings about the risk of a wider war involving Russia and NATO led by the United States.

Ukraine says it must be able to carry out attacks behind Russian lines, including on Russian sovereign territory, to fight back.

However, Russian officials say Moscow's patience is running thin after repeated Ukrainian attacks on Russian cities, oil refineries and, in recent days, targeting elements of its nuclear early warning system.