The United States could face "fatal consequences" if it continues to ignore Russia's warnings on allowing Ukraine to deploy U.S.-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia.
This is Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov's response on Monday to the announced decision of the Biden administration to ease the ban on using American weapons outside what Washington considers Ukrainian territory. The move is supposedly limited to a small piece of Russia's Belgorod Region relevant to hostilities across the border in Ukraine's Kharkiv Region.
"I would like to warn American actors against miscalculations that can lead to fatal consequences. For some unclear reason they underestimate how serious a response they could face," Ryabkov said. "I urge these figures (in the U.S.) ... to spend some of their time, which they apparently spend on some kind of video games, judging by the lightness of their approach, on studying what was said in detail by Putin," Ryabkov said, referring to President Vladimir Putin's comments last week on NATO countries playing with fire and risking a deeper global conflict. Putin previously said that the West would be directly involved in any use of its weapons by Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia because such attacks would require its satellite, intelligence and military help.
Ryabkov also warned that Russia could react asymmetrically to a Ukrainian attack on its nuclear deterrence and Moscow would hold the U.S. responsible. Officials in Washington "have given Kyiv a permit for any crimes, any action and do nothing to curb provocations by their clients… But the U.S. does not get this for free and will feel consequences," the deputy FM warned. (Related: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the West DOESN’T WANT the Russia-Ukraine war to end.)
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Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the White House had approved a Ukrainian request to deploy U.S.-supplied weapons against targets in Russian territory. "Over the past few weeks, Ukraine came to us and asked for authorization to use weapons that we’re providing to defend against this aggression, including against Russian forces that are amassing on the Russian side of the border and then attacking Ukraine. And that went right to the U.S. president. And, as you’ve heard, he’s approved the use of our weapons for that purpose," Blinken said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv was grateful to Washington for allowing it to use U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket systems in the Kharkiv region, but this was not enough. Ukraine has long argued that restrictions on the way it can use Western-supplied weapons are seriously limiting its ability to defend itself.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is willing to assist Zelensky saying last week that NATO had the right to help Ukraine uphold its right to self-defense and this did not make NATO a party to the conflict.
Kyiv fires U.S.-made rocket launcher HIMARS inside Russia
Russian sources reported that Ukraine had fired U.S.-made weapons inside Russia for the first time after the White House lifted the ban on using its ammunition in Moscow. The Ukrainian military reportedly used the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars), which is a light multiple rocket launcher, to hit bordering Belgorod city.
Ukrainian officials further confirmed the attack, announcing they had successfully hit a Russian S-300 missile system using Western-supplied weapons. "It burns beautifully. It's a Russian S-300 on Russian territory. The first days after permission to use Western weapons on enemy territory," Ukrainian government minister Iryna Vereshchuk posted on Facebook alongside a picture purporting to show the strike. It was unclear in the admission if they indeed used U.S.-supplied war weapons.
Meanwhile, Russian air defense units reportedly intercepted 20 Ukrainian drones in southern Russia's Kursk region bordering Ukraine, regional governor Alexei Smirnov said on Monday. The governor claimed that the Ukrainian forces attacked four villages in his region using attack drones and helicopters, but no injuries were reported. In the Belgorod region, to the southeast, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said air defense units had downed "several airborne targets" that damaged residential roofs.
Amid the attacks, Zelensky accused China of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming peace conference he was organizing to be held in Switzerland. Speaking at Asia's premier security conference, he insisted that China is pressuring other countries and their leaders not to attend the upcoming talks. "Regrettably this is unfortunate that such a big, independent, powerful country as China is an instrument in the hands of (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin," he said at a news conference at the Shangri-La Dialogue defense forum.
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