• Warns green light will mean Nato at war with Russia
• Starmer in Washington for talks with Biden on the issue
• Zelensky wants to fire US, UK missiles deep into Russian territory

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin had delivered a clear message to the West about the consequences it will face if it allows Ukraine to hit Russian territory with Western long-range missiles.

The warning came as the leaders of Britain and the United States meet on Friday in Washington on whether to let Kyiv fire Western-provided long-range missiles into Russia — an option that has sent tensions soaring with Moscow.

Putin said on Thursday that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.

“The statement made by President Putin yesterday is very important. It is extremely clear, unambiguous and does not allow for double readings. We have no doubt that this statement reached those it was intended for,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with Kyiv’s allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles, including long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows, deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.

Zelensky said on Friday that he will meet US President Joe Biden “this month” to present his “victory plan” on how to end two and a half years of war with Russia.

He also said Kyiv’s recent offensive into Russia’s border region of Kursk had “slowed” Moscow’s advance in eastern Ukraine and that there are currently 40,000 Russian troops fighting in the area.

But he accused the West of being too “afraid” to even raise the possibility of shooting down Russian missiles and Iranian drones, even though it was helping Israel to do so.

President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will discuss whether to give the go-ahead for such strikes at talks in Washington on Friday.

Putin said on Thursday that such a move would drag the countries supplying Kyiv with long-range missiles directly into the war. He said satellite targeting data and programming of the missiles’ flight paths would have to be provided by Nato military personnel, as Kyiv did not have the capabilities itself.

“If this decision is taken, it will mean nothing less than the direct involvement of Nato countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine,” he said, and Russia would be forced to take “appropriate decisions”.

“This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict. It would mean that Nato countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia,” he said.

‘Not US-made missiles’

British media reported that Biden, who is wary of provoking a nuclear conflict, was ready to let Ukraine deploy British and French missiles using US technology but not US-made missiles themselves.

Responding to Putin’s warning, Starmer told UK media travelling with him that “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away.”

In a sign of increasing tensions, Russia’s FSB security service announced on Friday that the accreditation of six British diplomats had been withdrawn and accused them of spying.

But London dismissed the claims as “completely baseless” and indicated they were a tit-for-tat measure after it slapped new restrictions on Russian diplomats in May.

The talks come with Biden on his way out of office and November’s US election a toss-up between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

Trump repeatedly refused to take sides on the war during a debate with Harris on Tuesday, saying only: “I want the war to stop.”

Biden said on Tuesday that he was “working” on Ukraine’s demands, while top US and British diplomats Antony Blinken and David Lammy made a rare joint visit to Kyiv on Wednesday.

Blinken promised that Washington would now quickly review Kyiv’s long-standing request and would “adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary” to help Ukraine defend itself.

Washington currently authorises Ukraine to only hit Russian targets in the occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2024