Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia told the UN security council on Friday, September 13, 2024, that if western countries allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes in Russia, then NATO countries would be “conducting direct war with Russia.”
“In this case, we will have to, as you understand, take the relevant decisions with all the consequences for this that the western aggressors would incur,” he stressed.
“We’re not talking about a game here. The facts are that NATO will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power. I think you shouldn’t forget about this.”
Vassily Nebenzia
The comments echo words from Russian President, Vladimir Putin who on Thursday, September 12, 2024, said that any western decision to let Kyiv use such longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean NATO, the US, European countries, would be “at war” with Moscow.
“This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict,” the Russian President told a state television reporter.
He added that Russia would take “appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face” as a result.
European leaders have downplayed the significance of the Russian leader’s threats.
“It is necessary to take all events in Ukraine and on the Ukrainian-Russian front very seriously, but I would not attach excessive importance to the latest statements from President Putin,” said the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk.
“They rather show the difficult situation the Russians have on the front,” he added.
Peter Bátor, a defence policy expert who until recently served as Slovakia’s ambassador to NATO, noted, “I think that the Russian regime, and especially the president, usually does this when he doesn’t know how to respond – it’s usually just rhetoric.”
“If we learn one lesson in this Russian aggression against Ukraine, it’s that we should not listen to Putin. He has been lying to us all the time,” the former Ambassador added.
British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, also responded to Putin’s threats, telling reporters; “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defence.”
Starmer, who will meet the US President, Joe Biden, in Washington on Friday, said that the UK had provided “training and capability” to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion and he was visiting Biden partly because “there are obviously further discussions to be had about the nature of that capability.”
On Friday, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said there was no doubt that the Russian president’s message had reached those it was intended for.
Zelenskyy Expresses Frustration At Continued Resistance On Weapons Use
Also on Friday, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his frustration at the continued restrictions on the use of western weaponry against Russian targets.
Though the US and UK have hinted they may change tack on missile restrictions, the policy of not allowing Kyiv to strike deep into Russia remains.
“It’s difficult to repeatedly hear, ‘We are working on this,’ while Putin continues to burn down our cities and villages,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Meanwhile, a senior diplomat from eastern Europe, who spoke on condition of anonymity, argued there should be no restrictions on how weapons were used.
“According to international law, one country is allowed to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against the aggression of another how it sees fit,” the diplomat said.
“The simple fact that military support to Ukraine comes with limitations is actually the problem.”
“We see more Russian attacks on civilian Ukrainian infrastructure, more hybrid actions against allies and more drones and missiles entering NATO airspace on the eastern flank – Latvia, Poland, Romania.”
Senior Diplomat
The diplomat added, “Putin threatened the west before and he will continue to do so as long as these threats have an impact.”
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