President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory. Putin also reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty. The recent actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems,” he said, taking questions from international journalists — something that has become extremely rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. “That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” Putin added. The United States and Germany recently authorised Ukraine to hit some targets on Russian soil with the long-range weapons they are supplying to Kyiv. On Wednesday, a Western official and a US senator said Ukraine has used US weapons to strike inside Russia under newly approved guidance from President Joe Biden that allows American arms to be used for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. —AP
