“Of course, our military department is thinking about this and will offer different response options,” the president said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, commenting on the possible permission for Kiev to use Western long-range weapons against facilities inside Russia.

He also expressed his hope that the West would listen to his words on the matter.

The Russian leader noted that “Ukrainian troops cannot use these weapons on their own”, i.e. only specialists from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries can do so, as the use of these weapons requires space reconnaissance, which Ukraine does not have.

The Ukrainian military, he continued, “cannot do it on its own, nor does it have experts to use such data for flight missions and to perform a number of other manipulations. Therefore, what is happening now is being done by NATO officials.”

The only question is whether or not they will be allowed to attack inside Russian territory, Putin summed up.

Last September, the Russian leader warned NATO that Ukrainian attacks with NATO weapons against the interior of Russian territory would mean that the Atlantic Alliance countries are at war with Moscow.

NATO’s direct involvement, he emphasized, changes the very essence of the conflict.

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