Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that countries supplying weapons to Ukraine will face similar retaliation.
He claimed that Moscow could return the favor against Western targets by supplying long range arms to areas from where they could be targeted.
On this occasion when he held the rare press conference to international media, he was quoted saying “If someone believes it’s possible to send such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and cause issues for us, then why shouldn’t we have the right to send our similar weapons to regions where we can target significant locations in the countries that act against Russia in this manner?” as reported by The New York Times.
The comments came following strikes by Kyiv inside Russian territories using American origin long range weaponry recently. US president Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use US made weapons to strike against targets within Russian territories following similar measures by nations like Germany and the United Kingdom in the latter part of May. However, the permission to use these weapons remains conditional. They may only be used to defend the city of Kharkiv.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan declined to verify whether Kyiv utilized weapons provided by the United States to attack sites within Russia.
He informed the press en route to France that the President believed that as Russian forces fire into Ukraine across the border, they too should have the right to strike back at the attackers, including with American made weapons.
Flaring tensions
Social media, over the last weekend, was flooded with videos and images of destroyed military wreckage in the Belgorod region of Russia. The Russian city of Belgorod is less than 100 kilometers away from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s committee on national security, communicated with The New York Times via text messages that Kyiv’s armed forces deployed a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to target S-300 and S-400 missile launchers approximately 30 kilometers within Russian territory.
For several months, the Biden administration resisted Kyiv’s request to launch US-made missiles into Russian territory, in order to avoid further escalation with a nuclear-armed country that has previously threatened to use nuclear weapons on the battlefield if necessary.
However, the US has now permitted Kyiv to use its weapons solely for the defense of Kharkiv and in Russian territory near the city. Missiles like the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and other US-made long-range missiles still cannot be used offensively across the border by Ukraine.
According to media reports, Kyiv has been vigorously lobbying for permission to launch more powerful missiles, such as the aforementioned ATACMS, into Russian territory.
Putin’s response
Over the past few weeks, Russia has ramped up its efforts around the Kharkiv region, going so far as to open up a new front while the defending side lacks arms and munitions due to delays by the US Congress. They have been successful in capturing a number of villages in the Donbass region. The beaten back Ukrainian forces have had to retreat from the area with thousands of Russian troops fortifying the area around the strategic location of the town of Chasiv Yar.
Putin said that Russia would take “asymmetrical” steps in response to strikes inside Russian territories. He made these statements as Russian ships and aircrafts are on the way to the Caribbean for a military exercise.
The ships are expected to make port in Cuba and Venezuela in a show of force despite facing heavy damages to their Black sea fleet.
