Russia Warns US: Don't Arm Ukraine with Long-Range Missiles

President Vladimir Putin 

Moscow's Red Line: US Missile Aid to Ukraine

“Washington and other European states are becoming parties to the war in Ukraine...”

Russia warns US and allies against providing Ukraine with long-range missiles, threatening retaliation. Putin frames the war as a crusade against a declining West, while the West sees it as an imperialist land grab. The conflict escalates, with both sides determined to prevail.

Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's Duma, issued a stern warning to the United States and its allies on Wednesday, September 11, cautioning against providing Ukraine with long-range missiles.

Volodin threatened that if the West supplies Ukraine with intercontinental ballistic missiles, enabling deep strikes into Russian territory, Russia will consider the US and its allies as direct participants in the conflict and will retaliate with more powerful weapons.

President Putin portrays the Ukraine war as a broader crusade against a decadent, declining West, which he believes has consistently humiliated Russia since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. In his view, the West has encroached on Russia's sphere of influence, including Ukraine, through its expansionist policies.

In stark contrast, the West and Ukraine see Putin's invasion as a brazen, imperialist land grab. They are resolute in their determination to thwart Russia's military ambitions and defeat Putin's forces, viewing the conflict as a critical test of their collective resolve and strength.

“Washington and other European states are becoming parties to the war in Ukraine,” he said on his Telegram page.

The speaker asserted that the US, Germany, France, and Britain are stepping up their participation in the conflict.

He added that, “All this will lead to the fact that our country will be forced to respond using more powerful and destructive weapons to protect its citizens.”

President Biden stated on Tuesday that his administration is presently examining the option of easing restrictions on Ukraine's utilization of long-range weapons.

The United States is close to finalizing a deal to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons, but Kyiv will have to wait several months for delivery due to technical issues that need to be resolved.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Iran's alleged provision of ballistic missiles to Russia, describing it as a “significant escalation” of the conflict. However, Tehran vehemently denied the accusations, labeling them “ugly propaganda.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been persistently urging Western nations to provide Ukraine with longer-range missiles and lift restrictions on their use, enabling Ukraine to target strategic locations such as military airfields within Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning in June: if Western nations allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons to launch deeper strikes into Russia, he will retaliate by positioning conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine has its roots in the 2014 Maidan Revolution, which ousted a pro-Russian president and led to Russia's annexation of Crimea. This sparked a prolonged conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces, which has ravaged the region.

In 2022, Russia escalated the conflict with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, deploying thousands of troops and sparking the most significant confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War era.