Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Russia could deliver long-range missiles to third countries that they would use these weapons to attack “strategic points” in the territory of Western allies that supply weapons to Ukraine, in what he described as a “symmetrical” response to Western arms deliveries to kyiv.
In an appearance before foreign media from St. Petersburg, the Kremlin leader, who did not mention which countries he was referring to, said that the West’s permission for kyiv to use weapons delivered for the defense of its territory against Russian soil constitutes a “step very dangerous”, especially if those who send them also “control” their use.
“Delivering weapons to a war zone is always bad,” Putin saiddespite the fact that the Kremlin uses Iranian drones and North Korean missiles to attack Ukrainian cities.
Putin also stated that if Germany sends long-range Taurus missiles capable of hitting Moscow to Ukraine, Russian-German relations would be definitively destroyed.
Putin’s statements came on the same day that The United States reported having been tracking Russian vessels and combat aircraft that are scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean in the coming weeks. for a military exercise.
Two U.S. officials said Wednesday that the drills would be a show of force by Russia as tensions escalate over Western military support for Ukraine.
It is also planned that the vessels will make possible stops in ports in Venezuela and Cuba.while Russia establishes a military presence in the Western Hemisphere that, according to senior officials in President Joe Biden’s government, was attention-grabbing, but not worrying.
The maneuvers, which will be closely monitored by the US military, will include a “handful” of Russian ships and support vessels, the two officials said, quoted by the AP.
The officials, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to provide details that had not been publicly announced, said that exercise ‘no doubt’ part of broader Russian response to US support for Ukrainebut it is also an attempt by Putin to demonstrate that his Navy is still capable of projecting global power, after losing important units to accurate Ukrainian attacks.
Ukrainian military officials said in March that Russia had lost a third of its Black Sea fleet to attacks during the last two years of war.
Russia did not notify the United States about the upcoming maneuversbut the US Navy has been tracking the movements of these vessels, officials said.
Although Russia did not notify the United States — which countries typically do to avoid misunderstandings — officials said militaries around the world have the right to conduct maneuvers in international waters and do so regularly.
Some 20 NATO countries, including the United States, will kick off BALTOPS 24, a major naval and air exercise in the Baltic region near Russia, starting Friday.
Officials said they hope Russian ships will remain in the region throughout the summer and will likely conduct similar follow-up exercises in the Caribbean after concluding these maneuvers, and added that Congress was notified on Wednesday about the upcoming Russian military exercises.
