Putin: We Could Supply Long-Range Missiles To Enemies Of West In Retaliation

'The situation is clearly escalating, and quite rapidly, by the day at this point.'

By Tyler Durden: Update(1932ET): Russian President Putin addressed the annual economic forum in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, where he took the opportunity to put the US and NATO on notice concerning Kiev being given the greenlight to use Western weapons to attack Russian territory (detailed below). 

He suggested that he's mulling the option of providing adversaries of the West with Russian long-range missiles. Below is what he said: 

“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Mr Putin told a three-hour meeting with the senior editors of international news agencies.

Because using such Western weapons involves military personnel of those countries controlling the missiles and selecting targets, Mr Putin claimed Moscow could take “asymmetrical” steps elsewhere in the world.

“If they consider it possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities of the countries that do it to Russia?” he said.

He then followed ominously with, "We will think about it." But it remains that clearly Russia needs to keep intact its arsenal and advanced weapon supplies as much as possible, considering it could be in for a years-long conflict in Ukraine and with its Western backers. The proxy fight is set to go on for the foreseeable future, and could easily escalate into direct war with NATO at this dangerous point. There was also this interesting moment during a Q&A with journalists...

PUTIN SAYS: It may take a year to get rid of Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/wZkcKpr9DL

— Russian Market (@runews) June 5, 2024

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Ukraine is already attacking Russian territory with US-supplied long-range weapons, a fresh NY Times investigation has acknowledged. It comes a mere days after the Biden administration greenlighted Ukraine's request to fire American weapons onto Russian soil.

"Yehor Chernev, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had destroyed Russian missile launchers with a strike in the Belgorod region, about 20 miles into Russia," NY Times wrote, describing it as a 'first'.

The Ukraine official said that the army used a US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. The revelation came the same day that a UK Telegraph report detailed NATO logistics plans for US troop 'land corridors' in the event of a European ground war with Russia.

Various social media videos and images appeared to show burning and destroyed S-300 and S-400 systems inside Russian territory...

Examining some of the new to emerge images, Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, described to the Times, "Given the range, type of target, munition availability and change in the Biden administration’s policy, I think it is probable this strike was conducted with HIMARS."

Additionally the report highlighted other evidence pointing to US munitions used in the attack:

On Saturday, Evgeny Poddubny, a war correspondent for Russian state television, shared photographs of what were presented as fragments of American guided rockets found in Russian territory. It was not possible to independently verify when or where the fragments were found.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk also hinted that the strike was conducted with American weapons. 

Vereshchuk shared a picture (above) of a burning S-300 system on Telegram - but soon after deleted - with the caption, "It’s burning well. This is a Russian S-300. On Russian territory. The first days after permission to use Western weapons on the enemy’s territory."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned earlier this week, "I would like to caution American officials against miscalculations which may have fatal consequences. For some unknown reason, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive."

Russian media has meanwhile on Wednesday announced the destruction of more foreign weapons stores inside Ukraine with the below statement:

The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that its forces have successfully hit weapon and equipment storage sites used by the Foreign Legion fighting alongside Ukraine.

"Using operational-tactical aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops, and artillery, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed the weapon and military equipment depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Hortitsa operational-strategic group and the 'Foreign Legion' fighters," the ministry clarified.

Several videos of destroyed Russian anti-air systems:

Long-delayed U.S. permission to use HIMARS GMLRS to strike across the Russian border starts to bring results. Here is footage of an S-300/S-400 missile system that Russia also uses in surface-to-surface mode to pummel Kharkiv. Location said to be in Belgorod region. Source:… pic.twitter.com/YiM5NmDrkZ

— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) June 3, 2024

Thus far the Pentagon has not officially commented, neither confirming nor denying, on whether Ukraine has used US long-range weapons inside Russia yet. But the situation is clearly escalating, and quite rapidly, by the day at this point.

Source