Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes the West has “heard” his warnings about a possible green light for Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with Western weapons, in an interview broadcast on Telegram on Sunday.
“They did not tell me anything about this, I hope they have heard, because of course we will also have to make certain decisions,” Vladimir Putin warned in an interview broadcast by a journalist from the Russian Presidential Complex on Telegram.
Ukraine is demanding permission to strike targets deep in Russian territory with missiles delivered by the West.
The United States has so far refused to do so for fear of escalation that could lead to a direct conflict with Russia, as both countries are nuclear powers.
In September, Vladimir Putin warned that if the West allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range missiles, it would mean that “NATO countries are at war with Russia.” He added: “This would change the nature of the conflict.”
For Russia, even if it is the Ukrainian military that carries out the strikes, they will be prepared by the West, which supplies them with weapons as well as intelligence that Kiev does not possess.
In the spring, French President Emmanuel Macron seemed to open the door to the Ukrainians, explaining that we must “allow them to neutralize the military sites from which the missiles are launched.”
“In Europe, especially in small countries, they have to think about what they are playing with. They have to remember that they are often countries with a small area and a very high population density,” Putin said at the time.
51 Ukrainian drones
In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced, on Sunday morning, that it shot down 51 Ukrainian drones during the night over its territory.
The ministry said in a statement via the Telegram application that eighteen were intercepted in the Tambov region, a town about 400 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, and sixteen in the area of the border town of Belgorod.
The rest were shot in the Oryol, Bryansk, Lipetsk and Voronezh regions.
One of them was intercepted in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have been launching a ground offensive since August. They control hundreds of square kilometers of Russian territory there.
Russia announces almost daily that it has destroyed Ukrainian drones launched against its territory, but in generally smaller numbers.
Kiev says it is carrying out these strikes, which often target energy sites, in response to Russian bombing on its territory.
