Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he could deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies if they allowed Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia with long-range Western weapons.
When asked about NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg's calls to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory, Putin differentiated between different missiles but warned allowing Kyiv to strike Russia with ever more powerful weapons was a serious escalation that was drawing the West towards a war with Russia.
Russia's response, the 71-year-old Kremlin chief said, would be to shoot down the Western missiles, and specifically mentioned U.S. ATACMS, and British and French missile systems.
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