In a speech in St. Petersburg, President Putin issued a red line warning to the West, cautioning against permitting Ukraine to threaten Russian territory with Western long-range missiles. Putin suggested that this would fundamentally change the war, claiming that the USA, NATO members, and European governments would be seen as directly fighting Russia.
Putin surmised that Ukraine would require knowledge of NATO and satellite data from the West to fire missiles into Russia. He mentioned that these missile systems will only be programmable by NATO troops. Russia has a history of drawing boundaries that were later breached. For instance, Putin declared the start of a special military operation on February 24, 2022, and warned about foreign intervention. He warned to impose harsh penalties on any groups that pose a danger to Russia.
Despite these concerns, western countries have persisted in providing Ukraine with cutting-edge military hardware, such as tanks and fighter planes. Russia has said that Ukraine had attacked Crimea with US ATACMS rockets. Russian leaders consistently claim that the West is waging an offensive against their country, despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to recent statements, Putin issued a red line warning, stating the conflict would escalate if Western missiles struck Russia. However, he did not specify how Russia would respond. Earlier this year, Putin suggested bolstering air defenses and potentially supplying missiles to target adversaries. Additionally, there are hints that Russia might revise its nuclear policy in response to Western actions.
When President Biden and Sir Keir Starmer meet in Washington, long-range missiles and Ukraine will most likely be on the agenda. Starmer emphasized that since Russia initiated the issue, it could stop it immediately. Western leaders have to weigh the risk of an escalation against the imperative of arming Ukraine with state of the art weaponry.
