Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Great Britain and the United States that they will "go to war" with Russia if they allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets in his country.
According to writes The Times British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden will hold talks at the White House on Friday regarding the authorization of Ukraine to strike Russia with Storm Shadow missiles. It is expected that they will reach an agreement on this issue, since Russia bought more than 200 ballistic missiles from Iran, which in the West was called a "significant escalation".
On Russian state television on Thursday, Putin stressed that this move would "significantly change the very nature of the conflict," forcing Moscow to respond.
"This will mean that NATO countries are at war with Russia. We will make appropriate decisions based on the threats we face." he declared.
At the same time, Starmer resolutely rejected Putin's accusations, recalling Ukraine's right to self-defense.
"This conflict was started by Russia. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can immediately end this conflict. Ukraine has the right to self-defense, and obviously we absolutely fully supported Ukraine's right to self-defense by providing training opportunities. But we do not seek any conflict with Russia, it is not even our intention. But they started this conflict, and Ukraine has the right to self-defense," — explained the position of the allies.
In a significant change of tone, Starmer and Biden are expected to discuss how to end Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In particular, the prime minister will use the two-hour meeting at the White House to discuss how to achieve a "long-term solution" to the war, as well as the conflict in Gaza.
While the US may give the green light to Storm Shadow and their French Scalp equivalents, it may not apply to US ATACMS ballistic missiles amid concerns about a possible reaction from Putin.
According to one Western official, they believe the discussion in Washington will focus on "how we will use the remaining months of the Biden administration to put Ukraine in the strongest position by the end of the year." In particular, the British hope that permission to strike will give Zelensky advantages in bringing Putin to the negotiating table. This and the possibility of Ukraine agreeing to peace in exchange for part of the territories will probably be among the topics of discussion in the White House.
One Ukrainian military source criticized the idea of these ongoing discussions and the prospect of Biden allowing only certain long-range weapons to be used in Russia.
"I think this war cannot be won or stopped by half measures. Every day costs us several human lives and destruction, and we always beg for the obvious things that are necessary for our survival. It is unfair to buy time with human lives," — the interlocutor of the publication was indignant.
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