Moscow: In a dire warning to the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that allowing Kyiv to use its weapons to strike Moscow will have "serious consequences" and trigger a global conflict even as Ukraine requested the international community to remain steadfast in their support of the war.
Putin's comments came in response to growing calls within some NATO member states to permit Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia. He specifically threatened Europe against allowing Ukraine to strike Russia and also cautioned against the potential deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. This comes even as Russia has intensified its offensive, while Ukraine continues to grapple with shortages of weapons and manpower.
He also claimed that Western military instructors were active in Ukraine as 'specialists' operating undercover as mercenary fighters, as per a Reuters report. The response came after he was queried about a top Ukrainian commander's remarks that discussions were being held on sending French military instructors to the country.
“Constant escalation can lead to serious consequences,” Putin told reporters in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, as per a Reuters report. He added: “If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the United States behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons? It’s hard to say – do they want a global conflict?”
He said that Ukrainian strikes with long-range weapons would need Western satellite, intelligence, and military help, which would require the West to be directly involved in the attacks. “This is a factor that they should keep in mind before talking about striking deep into Russian territory. This is a serious thing, and we are of course watching it very closely,” the Russian leader said.
Putin's remarks are seen as a sharp retort to French President Emmanuel Macron who said that Ukraine should be allowed to 'neutralize' Russian military bases from where Kremlin troops are firing missiles into Ukraine.
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Kyiv: Urging maximum participation from world leaders for a peace summit in Switzerland in June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the absence of his American counterpart Joe Biden would be like "applauding Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Biden has yet to confirm whether or not he will attend the summit, which will be held in the luxury five-star Bürgenstock hotel high above Lake Lucerne. Asserting that attending or not is a "choice" between wanting peace or war in Ukraine, Zelensky said during a visit to Brussels that if Biden is not present, "it will be just like applauding Putin: personally applauding and doing so standing".
"I believe that the Peace Summit needs President Biden, and other leaders who are looking at the US response also need him... "If you want peace, you will be there and you will speak, even if you don't agree with something and if you want war, you will go to the mob that Russia wants to organize," he added.
