Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he may deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies if they permitted Ukraine to strike further into Russia with long-range Western weaponry.

Putin, in his first face-to-face discussion with senior editors of major news agencies since the crisis in Ukraine began, said the West was incorrect to assume Russia would never deploy nuclear weapons, and warned the Kremlin’s nuclear doctrine should not be taken lightly.

When asked about NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg’s calls to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory, Putin differentiated between different missiles but warned allowing Kyiv to strike Russia with ever more powerful weapons was a serious escalation that was drawing the West towards a war with Russia.

Russia’s answer, the 71-year-old Kremlin head stated, would be to fire down the Western missiles, and specifically cited U.S. ATACMS, and British and French missile systems.

Putin also claimed Moscow was considering placing similar high-technology, long-range missiles near enough to target the governments that permitted Ukraine to strike Russian territory with such missiles.

“If we observe that these nations are being drawn into a conflict against the Russian Federation, then we reserve the right to act in the same way. In general, this is a path to extremely big difficulties,” Putin remarked. Putin did not disclose specifics of where he was considering delivering such weapons.

President Joe Biden allowed Kyiv to shoot some U.S.-supplied weaponry at military targets within Russia. Washington still prevents Kyiv from striking Russia with ATACMS, which have a range of up to 186 miles (300 km), and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, during a visit to Kyiv on May 3, told Reuters Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by Britain to strike targets within Russia, and it was up to Kyiv whether to do so.

Speaking to media for more than three hours at the newly erected 81-floor Gazprom skyscraper ahead of the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin touched on issues from the war in Gaza to the forthcoming U.S. election.
“No one in the United States is interested in Ukraine, they are interested in the greatness of the United States, which is fighting not for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, but for its own greatness.”

Putin said Russia did not care who the next U.S. president was but said the U.S. legal system was plainly being exploited in a political war against Republican contender Donald Trump.

“They are burning themselves from the inside, their state, their political system … It is apparent all throughout the world that the prosecution of Trump, especially in court on charges that were established on the basis of events that transpired years ago, without direct proof, is just manipulating the judicial system in an internal political conflict,” stated Putin.

More than two years into the worst land war in Europe since World War Two, Putin is increasingly talking of the potential of a global battle as the West grapples with what to do about the advance of Russian forces in Ukraine.
When asked about the likelihood of nuclear war, Putin replied Russia’s nuclear doctrine authorized the use of such weapons.

“For some reason, the West believes that Russia will never use it,” Putin said when asked by Reuters about the potential of nuclear escalation over Ukraine during more than three hours of questioning.

“We have a nuclear doctrine, check what it says. If someone’s activities endanger our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we think it possible for us to utilize any means at our disposal. This should not be treated casually, superficially.”

Russia’s published 2020 nuclear doctrine sets out the conditions under which a Russian president would consider using a nuclear weapon: broadly as a response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia “when the very existence of the state is put under threat.”

Putin sees the conflict in Ukraine as part of an existential battle with a decaying and corrupt West which he argues humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by encroaching on what he deems Moscow’s area of influence, including Ukraine.

Putin said the West refused to discuss about the reasons of the war – which he said started in 2014 when a pro-Russian president was deposed in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution. Putin portrayed it as a U.S.-backed coup.

The West describes the incursion as an imperial-style territory grab and has committed to help Ukraine resist Russian forces.
Ukraine says it would not rest until every single Russian soldier is expelled from the areas of Ukraine they control and which Moscow now believes to be portions of Russia.

Western officials and Ukraine have played down Russia’s warnings about the potential of a bigger war involving Russia but have repeatedly warned Putin would strike a member of NATO, the world’s most powerful military alliance.

Both Putin and Biden have cautioned that a direct fight between Russia, the world’s strongest nuclear power, and U.S.-led NATO would be a step towards World War Three.

“You should not make Russia out to be the enemy. You’re only hurting yourself with this, you know?” Putin said.
“They thought that Russia wanted to strike NATO. Have you gone entirely crazy? That is as thick as this table. Who came up with this? It is just complete rubbish, you know? Total garbage.”