Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is coming up with various ways to respond should the United States and its NATO allies allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike deep inside Russia, according to remarks published on Sunday.
"(The Russian defence ministry) is thinking about how to respond to the possible long-range strikes on Russian territory, it will offer a range of responses," Putin told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin in video remarks published on Zarubin's Telegram messaging account.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been pleading with Kyiv's allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles including long-range U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow's ability to launch attacks.
Putin was asked if NATO countries had listened to Putin's previous statements that such a move would drag the countries supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles directly into the war.
"They have not told me anything about it, but I hope they have heard," Putin said. "Because, of course, we will have to make some decisions for ourselves, too."
Putin said it was a little early to talk about exactly how, when and where Russia would respond, but that Moscow would have to respond accordingly should long-range strikes be authorised.
Putin said that only personnel from NATO countries can operate the specific equipment Ukraine wants as Kyiv does not have the requisite specialists.
"The Ukrainian army is not capable of doing this independently, it cannot," Putin said.