Vladimir Putin warns the US and NATO will be ‘at war’ with Russia if Ukraine is allowed to use long-range missiles

Vladimir Putin has warned that the US and NATO would be “at war” with Russia if the West allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles.

The US and British foreign ministers met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on Wednesday, as the war reaches a turning point.

US officials have also discussed easing restrictions on the use of weapons that could strike deep inside Russia.

Putin said the West’s move would “change the nature of the conflict itself” and threatened to severely restrict Zelensky’s firepower.

“That would mean that NATO countries, the US and European countries are at war with Russia,” he told a state television reporter on Thursday.

“If that is the case, then taking into account the changing nature of the conflict, we will make the right decisions based on the threats we face.”

He added that clearing the way for Ukraine to deploy missiles capable of hitting Russian targets “is a decision on whether NATO countries are directly involved in the conflict or not.”

Putin’s warning came 24 hours before President Joe Biden was set to meet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House.

Zelensky has been pressing the West to give him more firepower and air defenses after a series of Russian missile attacks.

Antony Blinken announced that Washington would provide more than $700 million in aid, while Foreign Secretary David Lammy indicated that Britain would contribute a further 600 million pounds ($781 million) in a final show of support for Kiev.

It is not yet clear whether Zelensky will succeed in getting what he really wants: the green light from the White House and Downing Street to fire Western-supplied long-range missiles at targets on Russian soil.

If Ukraine’s Western allies lift the ban, Kiev’s soldiers will soon be able to strike Russian military units up to 300 km (190 miles) deep inside Russia with missiles such as the American ATACMS and the Anglo-French Storm Shadow. This capability could have a major impact on the course of the conflict.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, last month compiled a list of nearly 250 high-value military and paramilitary targets within range of weapons that could be destroyed by Ukraine.

The ISW’s key targets include as many as 16 Russian air bases, a large number of brigade and division headquarters, artillery and missile units crucial to Russia’s air defense capabilities, and several logistics hubs supplying Vladimir Putin’s units on the front lines.

Targeting these locations could cripple Russian logistics, command and control, and combat support, significantly limiting Moscow’s offensive capabilities on occupied Ukrainian territory. This could happen even if Putin’s forces were to move most of their strategic bombers further east.

The Kursk nuclear power plant and various nuclear weapons stockpiles are also theoretical targets.

Ukraine has already carried out several attacks deep inside Russia, including on targets in the capital Moscow, a number of oil refineries and ammunition depots.

But these attacks were carried out by kamikaze drones, which are significantly limited in size and highly vulnerable to Russian jamming and air defense systems.