Putin: "In case of supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine, we will draw conclusions and will be able to attack targets we have not yet attacked."
The president indicated that additional arms deliveries to Kiev have only one goal: to prolong the conflict.
Putin: "In case of supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine, we will draw conclusions and will be able to attack targets that we have not yet attacked."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in case of supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine, Moscow will draw "relevant conclusions" and use its weapons "to attack those targets" it has not yet attacked.
The president maintained during an interview with Rossiya 1 channel, broadcast on Sunday, that the whole story with the additional arms deliveries "has only one goal: to prolong the armed conflict as much as possible".
In that context, he indicated that the U.S. decision to send HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems to Ukraine will not significantly change the balance of power. "There is nothing new here. First of all, these multiple rocket launcher systems are in service with the Ukrainian Army: analogous systems of Soviet, Russian production [such as the] Grad, Smerch, Uragan," Putin detailed, stressing that the range does not depend on the system itself, but on the projectiles it launches.
Medvedev warned of a response in case Ukraine uses U.S. multiple rocket launcher systems against Russian territory.
"We assume that this supply by the U.S., and other countries, is related to the replenishment of losses of this military equipment," he noted. As for Kiev's requests for deliveries of artillery units, the Russian president said that apparently it is about the same thing: the replacement of equipment "lost, destroyed during military actions."
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a new military aid package for Ukraine, in which Washington will supply Kiev with HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems, which have a range of more than 70 kilometers.
Regarding Russia's concerns about the threat to its territory, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Kiev promised Washington that it will not use U.S. weapons to attack Russia.
On Thursday, the U.S. ambassador to Kiev said that HIMARS "will help Ukrainian forces to have more specific targets, but also to fire at longer ranges." At the same time he noted that the range of these systems "will depend on Ukrainian forces."
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Ukraine's requests to receive multiple rocket launcher systems represent "a direct provocation aimed at involving the West in military actions".