NATO Secretary General responds to Putin’s statement on the bloc’s involvement in the conflict

Putin said allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range weapons would make NATO a direct participant in the conflict. Stoltenberg says that is not the case

According to CBS News Putin said “Flight assignments for these missile systems can, in fact, only be entered by military personnel from NATO countries. Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this. Therefore, it is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of deciding whether NATO countries directly participate in the military conflict or not,” Putin said in response to a question on Thursday.

President Putin said on September 12 that the use of Western long-range weapons to strike Russia “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are fighting Russia.” “If that is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us,” he stressed.

According to NATO “Under international law, Ukraine has the right to self-defense. We have the right to support Ukraine without becoming a party to the conflict,” Stoltenberg said

Reuters reported after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Kyiv “We are listening carefully and, of course, we are having discussions on a range of issues, including the military equipment that Ukraine needs to win,” Lammy told a news conference alongside Blinken and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

The British foreign minister suggested those discussions could continue for a few more weeks, a remark that will disappoint Ukrainians hoping the West would quickly discard fears of escalation.

on September 11 London and Washington had asked Ukraine to provide a plan for using long-range missiles to strike military targets on Russian territory before lifting restrictions on their use. According to ABC, During a lengthy meeting, Zelenskky and Blinken discussed lifting the ban on strikes deeper into Russian territory and weapon supplies, according to an adviser to Zelenskyy with knowledge of the meeting. Zelenskyy gave Blinken a detailed plan of how Ukraine could use long-range missiles for strikes into Russia and gave him a list of possible targets, the adviser said.

France must do everything to prevent the conflict in Ukraine from escalating into a third world war, Le Monde wrote, citing a diplomatic source in Paris. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he considered it a problem to allow Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory, and assured that he would not allow it.

Ukraine is already striking deep into Russia with Western weapons, Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, admitted in early summer. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in May that American weapons are already being used for strikes outside the combat zone. President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons are “close to aggression.”

During the invasion of the Kursk region, the Ukrainian military used British Challenger 2 tanks, Sky News reported. The use of Western weapons in the Kursk border area was also discussed by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN Dmitry Polyansky. The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly reported attempts to attack Crimea with Storm Shadow. Strikes were carried out on Belgorod using the Czech-made RM-70 Vampire multiple-launch rocket system.