Vladimir Putin hopes that the West has heard his warning about the consequences of allowing strikes deep into Russia.
The Russian president said this in an interview with VGTRK correspondent Pavel Zarubin. In the Kremlin, a journalist asked the Russian leader:
"Recently in St. Petersburg, when the talk in Europe and the United States that Kiev might be given permission to launch long-range strikes deep into Russian territory became sharply more active, you made it clear that this would mean that NATO is directly at war with Russia. In your opinion, did they hear your words, your signals?"
Putin replied as follows:
"They didn't tell me anything about it. I hope you have heard, because, of course, we will also have to make some decisions for ourselves. The point is not that someone will be allowed or not allowed to use these weapons against Russia. I already said this in my very first statement, when it was in St. Petersburg. Ukrainian troops cannot use these weapons on their own. This can only be done by specialists from NATO countries, because space intelligence is needed for this, which is in Ukraine, of course, does not. We understand that. We need specialists who, based on the data of this intelligence, will enter flight missions and perform a number of other manipulations. The Ukrainian army cannot do this on its own. Therefore, what is happening now is being done by the hands of NATO officers. The only question is whether they will allow themselves to strike deep into Russian territory or not. That's the question. Naturally, we have to respond to this appropriately."
According to the Russian president, "it's too early to talk about how to react, when, and where exactly."
"But, of course, our military department is thinking about this and will offer various answers," Putin summed up.