September 13,:
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that if the West were to let Ukraine use Western long-range missiles to attack Russian territory, it would alter the "essence and nature" of the conflict and directly involve the West in the fight. The Russian leader made these comments on Thursday, the day before UK PM Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden meet at the White House on Friday. During their meeting, they will discuss allowing Kyiv to utilize long-range missiles against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been urging Western governments, including the Biden administration, to authorize long-range missile strikes against Russia in order to exert pressure on Moscow to resolve the war.
Putin remarked, "What we are seeing is an attempt to substitute notions" when questioned about claims made in the US and UK that Russia would authorize strikes from long range by Ukraine. Simply said, the issue at hand is not the legality of the Kiev regime's attacks on Russian soil. It is already launching attacks with the use of drones and other technology. Using long-range precision weaponry developed in the West, however, is an entirely different matter. As I've already said, and any expert in our nation or the West can attest to, the Ukrainian army lacks the technological know-how to effectively use the state-of-the-art, highly accurate long-range systems provided by the West. They are completely incapable of doing it.
These weapons can't be used unless Ukraine has access to satellite intelligence data, which they don't have. Only satellites launched by the United States or the European Union (or, more generally, NATO) will be able to accomplish this. Let us begin with this. The second, and maybe most crucial, consideration is that these missile systems can only be assigned flying missions by members of the NATO military. Ukrainian soldiers are unable to accomplish this. Thus, permitting the Ukrainian leadership to launch an attack on Russia with these weapons is irrelevant. "The question is whether NATO nations will get directly involved in the fighting or not," he elaborated.
Putin told the media that if the West lets Ukraine utilize long-range missiles, they would become directly involved in the battle. Russia will respond to threats with "appropriate decisions," he said.
Putin warned that the United States, Europe, and NATO members would become active participants in the conflict in Ukraine if this decision is approved. Because of this, they will be directly involved in the fight, which will obviously alter its fundamental character.
As a result, the United States and its European allies will be officially at war with Russia. After considering the shift in the conflict's core, we will respond appropriately to the challenges that lie ahead, he continued. "Ensuring security of Ukraine, a strategic forefront of the entire North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is our joint priority, and we shall continue our efforts," stated Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski during a joint press conference in Poland with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Poland is still firmly behind the idea of putting further pressure on Russia's government to get it to stop its aggression against Ukraine.
We were ahead of the curve when it came to offering military and other forms of aid right from the start. We in the West will keep sending cutting-edge air and missile defense systems to Ukraine. The prohibition on long-range weaponry will also be lifted. He expressed confidence that the economic sanctions were having the desired impact and expressed hope for increased efforts to recover frozen Russian assets.
Having accompanied David Lammy, the UK's foreign secretary, on a visit to Ukraine, Blinken was in Poland.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and countless other nations have banded together in support of Ukraine in the face of Russia's persistent aggression. We traveled to Kyiv to reaffirm our shared commitment to seeing Ukraine through this crisis and into a future where it can stand strong militarily, economically, and democratically. During the joint news conference in Warsaw, Blinken stated that during their meetings in Kyiv, they discussed their agreed plan to reach that goal.
On September 6, Zelenskyy stated that long-range capabilities are necessary for Ukraine, both within its partitioned territory and in relation to Russian territory.
At the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) meeting held at Germany's Ramstein Air Base, Zelenskyy made the following statement: "We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.".
A statement made by the Ukrainian leader was reported by Al Jazeera as follows: "We need to make Russian cities and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."
The United States has promised Ukraine an extra $250 million in military assistance. The announcement was made by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin during the UDCG conference.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine erupted in February 2022, it has consistently convened delegates from approximately 50 states that supply Ukraine with weapons. According to Austin, new capabilities will be added to satisfy Ukraine's changing needs. Also, we will deliver them as quickly as a bullet.
After the discussion, Lloyd Austin told reporters that no one weapon could influence the outcome, seemingly rejecting Ukraine's request to ease arms limitations. The fight has been going on since 2022, and Ukrainian forces are making progress in the Donbass region. Putin declared the eastern territory to be his "primary objective" in the war on September 5.
Russian forces were taken unawares by Ukraine's advance into the Kursk region earlier in August. Moscow continued making progress unabated, according to Putin, who downplayed the offensive.
