WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Putin warns West not to let Ukraine use its missiles to hit Russia

Summary

Putin hints at risk of global conflict

Putin warns West over Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

President singles out European NATO members

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Tuesday that NATO members in Europe were playing with fire by proposing to let Ukraine use Western weapons to strike inside Russia, which he said could trigger a global conflict.

More than two years into the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two, as the West considers what to do about Russian military advances, Putin is increasingly evoking the risk of a global war, while Western leaders play it down.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the Economist that alliance members should let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with Western weapons, a view supported by some European members of the transatlantic alliance but not the United States.

Russian forces have advanced into Ukraine's Kharkiv province safe in the knowledge that Ukraine cannot attack missile launchers being fired deep inside Russia because it cannot use the Western missiles that have the required range.

Meanwhile, Western-made air defences cannot attempt to down Russian rockets until they cross the Ukrainian border, only 25 km (15 miles) or so from Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv.

"Constant escalation can lead to serious consequences," Putin told reporters in Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

"If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the United States behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons?"

"It's hard to say - do they want a global conflict?"

Putin said Ukrainian strikes with long-range weapons would need Western satellite, intelligence and military help - so the West would have to be directly involved in such attacks.

He said sending French troops to Ukraine would also be a step towards global conflict and that smaller countries considering deeper involvement "should be aware of what they are playing with" as they had small land areas and dense populations.

"This is a factor that they should keep in mind before talking about striking deep into Russian territory. This is a serious thing, and we are of course watching it very closely," Putin said.

RUSSIAN ADVANCES TRIGGER DEBATE IN WEST

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 touched off the worst breakdown in relations with the West for 60 years.

The invasion has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, driven millions to flee abroad, and reduced neighbourhoods and whole cities to rubble.

Putin casts the war as part of a struggle with the West, which he says is exploiting Ukraine as part of a wider plan to encroach on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence.

The West and Ukraine cast the attack as a simple land grab: Russia controls 18% of Ukraine, and the crisis is now escalating into what diplomats say is its most dangerous phase.

Russian officials say Moscow's patience is wearing thin after Ukrainian attacks on Russian cities, oil refineries and elements of its nuclear early-warning system.

Putin said Kyiv and its Western backers had provoked Russia's offensive on the Kharkiv region by ignoring repeated warnings not to let Ukraine attack the adjacent Russian region of Belgorod.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine likely inflated own combat successes – Forbes

Ukraine has likely exaggerated the number of reported downings of Russian aircraft, Forbes wrote on Monday. The American business magazine analyzed the statements made by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the country’s Defense Ministry and came to the conclusion that not all of them can be independently verified. 

Kiev claimed that its 110th Mechanized Brigade had shot down seven Russian Su-25 attack aircraft between May 4 and May 25. And yet, only two supposed shootdowns were backed by some sort of visual evidence, Forbes noted, referring to “a grainy photo of something burning on the ground,” and a video that “might depict a missile hitting a low-flying jet,”respectively. 

“The only other visual ‘evidence’ the 110th Mechanized Brigade has offered actually comes from a video game,” the magazine said. It argued that “more likely, the 110th Mechanized Brigade has shot down at most two Russian attack jets in less than a month.”

Forbes cited data from the Oryx monitoring website that said that Russia has lost at least 29 Su-25 since it launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Both Moscow and Kiev rarely reveal their own casualties and equipment losses. 

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its Su-25s participated in around a dozen of air raids on Ukrainian positions this month alone. According to the Russian MD, Ukraine has lost 604 military planes and 274 helicopters since the fighting began. 

According to Forbes, the 110th Mechanized Brigade suffered heavy losses during the battle for the strategic Donbass city of Avdeevka and was ultimately forced to retreat in February 2024, “leaving behind potentially hundreds of casualties.” Like many other Ukrainian units, the brigade has been plagued with ammunition shortage prompted by the delays in Western supplies. 

Kiev has consistently asked its Western supporters for the US-made F-16 fighter planes, arguing that they are essential for gaining an upper hand on the battlefield. Belgium pledged on Tuesday to supply Ukraine with 30 F-16s until 2028. Russia, meanwhile, has repeatedly warned that no amount of foreign aid would change the outcome of the conflict. 

Reuters/RT