Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that his country will consider itself "at war" with NATO if the West allows Ukraine to use long-range missiles on Russian territory. The warning comes amid intense pressure on President Biden to lift the U.S. ban on Ukraine using American missiles to strike deep inside Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that his country will be "at war" with NATO if the West lifts restrictions on its missiles in Ukraine.
Putin Threatens War with NATO over Ukraine Missile Ban
The announcement comes on the heels of Russian military aircraft being spotted flying off the coast of Alaska.
President Biden — among other Western nations' leaders — has come under intense pressure to lift the U.S. ban on Ukraine using American long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia.
Putin Threatens War with NATO over Ukraine Missile Ban
"This will mean that NATO countries — the United States and European countries — are at war with Russia. And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us," Putin told reporters on Thursday.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Washington, D.C., on Friday for talks with Biden that are expected to largely center on the use of Western weapons to strike inside Russia.
Putin Threatens War with NATO over Ukraine Missile Ban
The U.S. scrambled Russian fighter jets it had detected flying in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Thursday.
In a post to Twitter, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it detected and intercepted the planes, but they did not violate American or Canadian airspace.
Putin Threatens War with NATO over Ukraine Missile Ban
"This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat, and NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence."
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sowed doubts that allowing free rein with U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles would change the tide of the war.
"I find that relationship between what the Pentagon is advising the president based on intelligence versus the international pressure to be the really interesting part of the story," Seth Krummich, a retired Army colonel and vice president at international security firm Global Guardian, told Fox News Digital.
Ahead of the discussions, Moscow said it revoked accreditation for six British diplomats in Russia, accusing them of spying.
Putin on Thursday raised doubts about whether Ukraine could even use long-range missiles for offensive strikes alone without the help of Western intelligence in targeting.
"The Ukrainian army is not capable of using cutting-edge high-precision long-range systems supplied by the West" without NATO assistance in targeting, Putin warned.
"The real risk here is either a manufactured event by Russia with disinformation or, no kidding, a mistake happening using Western or NATO-provided long-range missiles that could trigger a war or a significant escalation," Krummich said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, during an interview with ABC News, said that if former President Donald Trump were still in office, Russian President Vladimir Putin would have already captured Kyiv.
Harris said that Trump "made excuses" for Putin and his actions in Ukraine, and that he "dismantled" the United States' alliances with other countries.
"We have seen the results of that, and we have seen the disastrous consequences of that," Harris said.
Trump has repeatedly praised Putin, calling him a "strong leader" and a "great guy." He has also questioned the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help Trump win.
In a statement released on Friday, Trump criticized Biden's handling of the Ukraine crisis, saying that "it's a very sad thing for our country."
"We are now in a position of weakness, and Putin is taking advantage of it," Trump said. "We need to stand up to Putin and defend our interests, but Biden is too weak to do that."
