MOSCOW (TDI): Russia has issued a stark warning to Ukraine’s allies after President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced they were “working out” whether to authorize Ukraine to use American and British long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.
Ukraine’s other allies including France and Germany have provided weapons with specific restrictions on their use within Russia, concerned that Ukrainian strikes might provoke a Russian retaliation that could involve NATO countries in the conflict.
However, the potential major policy shift for Washington and the West could provoke anger in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already warned that NATO would be “in direct war” with Russia if Western nations allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russian targets.
Now more than 900-days into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Vyacheslav Volodin, a prominent Russian political leader, highlighted the threat by stating, “The flight time of the Sarmat missile to Strasbourg is three minutes and twenty seconds.”
Read More: https://thediplomaticinsight.com/putin-warns-on-ukraine-getting-long-range-weapons/
The Center for Strategic and International Studies said that the Sarmat missile has a range of approximately 6,214 to 11,184 miles, placing the French city well within its reach, according to Newsweek.
Volodin, who has chaired Russia’s State Duma since 2016, responded to the European Parliament’s recent resolution urging EU member states to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons against military targets within Russian territory and to expedite arms deliveries to Kyiv.
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The resolution, passed with 425 votes in favor, 131 against, and 63 abstentions, emphasized that lifting current limitations is essential for Ukraine to fully exercise its right to self-defense and protect its infrastructure and population.
On September 11, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Moscow would respond appropriately if the U.S. and European nations lifted restrictions on long-range attacks.
This development followed U.S. President Joe Biden’s comments that Washington was “working that out now” regarding the potential easing of limitations on Ukraine’s use of American weaponry.
