Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear Moscow's position on the US lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of US weapons to attack Russian territory.
On November 17, in response to the news that US President Joe Biden had lifted restrictions on Ukraine's use of US weapons to attack Russian territory, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously made clear Moscow's position on this issue.
According to Ms. Zakharova, in September this year, President Putin said that if Western countries agreed to let Ukraine use long-range missiles provided by these countries to attack deep into Russian territory, this would mean that the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries were directly involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Accordingly, Russia would be forced to make what President Putin called "proportionate decisions" to respond to new threats.
Meanwhile, in an interview with RIA Novosti news agency, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (Russian lower house of parliament) Leonid Slutsky warned that the US allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS tactical missiles to attack Russian territory, if confirmed, would mean Washington's direct involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and would therefore lead to the toughest reaction from Moscow.
Earlier that day, Western media reported that President Biden had given Ukraine the green light to use long-range missiles provided by Washington to strike deep into Russian territory. This decision means a significant change in US policy in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
According to unnamed sources, Ukraine plans to carry out its first long-range strikes in the coming days. The strikes will likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 306 km.
In a speech delivered on the evening of November 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the plan to strengthen Ukraine is the content of the Plan to end the conflict that he presented to his partners. One of the main points is the ability to increase the range of the Ukrainian army.
Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski welcomed the move in a post on social network X.
The news that the US has lifted restrictions on Ukraine using weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, if confirmed, would mark a major shift in US policy under President Biden. Ukraine has long asked the US and its Western allies and partners to completely lift restrictions on Kiev using long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. However, the West initially showed some reservations about this request.