In a warning to the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Tuesday that NATO members in Europe are playing with fire by proposing to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike inside Russia. Putin asserted that such actions could trigger a global conflict.
Over two years into the deadliest land war in Europe since World War II, as the West considers how to respond to Russian military advances, Putin is increasingly evoking the risk of a global war, while Western leaders downplay this possibility.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Economist that alliance members should permit Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with Western weapons - a view supported by some European NATO members, but not the United States. Russian forces have advanced into Ukraine's Kharkiv province, secure in the knowledge that Ukraine cannot attack Russian missile launchers firing from deep within Russia, as Ukraine lacks the necessary long-range Western weapons.
Meanwhile, Western-made air defenses can only attempt to intercept Russian rockets once they cross the Ukrainian border, just 25 km (15 miles) from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
Putin warned that "constant escalation can lead to serious consequences" and questioned whether the United States is prepared for the implications if such consequences occur in Europe, given the strategic weapons parity between the two countries. He stated that Ukrainian strikes with long-range weapons would require Western satellite, intelligence, and military assistance, effectively making the West directly involved in such attacks.
The Russian leader also cautioned that sending French troops to Ukraine would be a step towards global conflict and advised smaller countries considering deeper involvement to be aware of the risks they are "playing with," given their small land areas and dense populations.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to the worst breakdown in relations with the West in 60 years. The war has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, the displacement of millions, and the destruction of neighborhoods and cities. Putin casts the conflict as part of a broader struggle with the West, which he claims is exploiting Ukraine as part of a plan to encroach on what he considers Moscow's sphere of influence.
The West and Ukraine, however, view the attack as a simple land grab, with Russia now controlling 18% of Ukrainian territory. Russian officials assert that Moscow's patience is wearing thin after Ukrainian attacks on Russian cities, oil refineries, and elements of its nuclear early-warning system, and that Kyiv and its Western backers provoked the offensive on the Kharkiv region by ignoring warnings not to allow Ukraine to attack the adjacent Russian region of Belgorod.
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