US officials criticize Putin’s warning of ‘war with Russia’ as Nato allies consider sending long-range missiles to Ukraine – live | Russia
US officials criticize Putin’s remarks on potential ‘war with Russia’
Andrew Roth
US officials and lawmakers have shot back at Vladimir Putin after the Russian leader said that Nato’s potential lifting of restrictions on Ukraine to launch long-range strikes into Russia would mean Nato countries were “at war” with Russia.
“This will mean that Nato countries – the United States and European countries – are at war with Russia,” Putin told Russian reporters on Thursday. “And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.”
The remarks provoked an angry response in Washington, where officials accused Putin of sabre-rattling in order to scare Nato countries away from supporting Ukraine.
Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate foreign relations committee, told the Guardian that Ukraine should have authorisation to strike targets deep inside Russia, including active Russian bombers launching missiles against Ukrainian cities.
“Putin’s latest threats about direct confrontation with Nato are simply an effort to coerce the West out of supporting Ukraine,” Risch said. “He knows that long-range strikes from Ukraine would cause significant damage to his war effort. Several Russian missiles have landed in Nato territory and Nato has not escalated.”
“Ukraine must be allowed to defend itself, period,” he continued. “If that means striking a Russian bomber launching missiles at Ukrainian civilians from Russian airspace, then Ukraine should be able to take that shot.”
Speaking with reporters on Friday, US national security council spokesman John Kirby said that there would likely be no announcements about the lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of British and French-supplied missiles in Ukraine.
But at the same time, he said that the US and its Nato allies have “our own calculus for what we decide to provide to Ukraine.”
“I never said that we don’t take Mr. Putin’s threats seriously,” Kirby said. “He starts brandishing the nuclear sword, for instance, yeah, we take that seriously. We constantly monitor that. He obviously has proven capable of aggression. He’s obviously proven capable of escalation… But it is not something that we haven’t heard before. So we take note of it. We got it.”
Key events
Vicky Graham
Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Friday and renewed calls for Britain to allow the country to use Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia.
“It is vital that Ukraine should be able to defend itself properly by stopping the appalling Russian attacks with glide bombs and now Iranian missiles,” Johnson said following the meeting.
“It is obvious that they should be able to use Storm Shadow, Scalp and ATACMS as fast as possible against targets in Russia itself. Every day that goes by means more pointless and tragic loss of Ukrainian lives,” he said.
US officials criticize Putin’s remarks on potential ‘war with Russia’
Andrew Roth
US officials and lawmakers have shot back at Vladimir Putin after the Russian leader said that Nato’s potential lifting of restrictions on Ukraine to launch long-range strikes into Russia would mean Nato countries were “at war” with Russia.
“This will mean that Nato countries – the United States and European countries – are at war with Russia,” Putin told Russian reporters on Thursday. “And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.”
The remarks provoked an angry response in Washington, where officials accused Putin of sabre-rattling in order to scare Nato countries away from supporting Ukraine.
Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate foreign relations committee, told the Guardian that Ukraine should have authorisation to strike targets deep inside Russia, including active Russian bombers launching missiles against Ukrainian cities.
“Putin’s latest threats about direct confrontation with Nato are simply an effort to coerce the West out of supporting Ukraine,” Risch said. “He knows that long-range strikes from Ukraine would cause significant damage to his war effort. Several Russian missiles have landed in Nato territory and Nato has not escalated.”
“Ukraine must be allowed to defend itself, period,” he continued. “If that means striking a Russian bomber launching missiles at Ukrainian civilians from Russian airspace, then Ukraine should be able to take that shot.”
Speaking with reporters on Friday, US national security council spokesman John Kirby said that there would likely be no announcements about the lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of British and French-supplied missiles in Ukraine.
But at the same time, he said that the US and its Nato allies have “our own calculus for what we decide to provide to Ukraine.”
“I never said that we don’t take Mr. Putin’s threats seriously,” Kirby said. “He starts brandishing the nuclear sword, for instance, yeah, we take that seriously. We constantly monitor that. He obviously has proven capable of aggression. He’s obviously proven capable of escalation… But it is not something that we haven’t heard before. So we take note of it. We got it.”
Canada backs Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons in war against Russia
In contrast to Germany, Canada said on Friday that it fully supports Ukraine’s use of long-range weaponry in its war against Russia.
Speaking to reporters, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said that his country supports Ukraine’s use of the weapons to “prevent and interdict Russia’s continued ability to degrade Ukrainian civilian infrastructure,” Reuters reports.
He added that Russian president Vladimir Putin is trying to destabilize international order, saying, “That’s why Canada and others are unequivocal that Ukraine must win this war against Russia.”
Germany won’t support sending long-range missiles to Ukraine
Germany’s chancellor has said he will not send long-range missiles to Ukraine, despite Ukraine’s insistence for the weapons.
At a press conference on Friday, Olaf Scholz said:
“Germany has made a clear decision about what we will do and what we will not do. This decision will not change,” Agence France-Presse reports.
Scholz’s remarks come amid an meeting between UK prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden over the possibility of allowing Ukraine to expand its strike capacity into Russia.
Germany has repeatedly refused to send Ukraine its own long-range Taurus missiles.
Earlier today, Scholz’s spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said that “the weapons the US and Britain are now discussing” have a longer range than anything Germany had supplied. Meanwhile, German defense minister Boris Pistorius said that what the US and Britain agree “remains their business.”
In a post on X on Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his gratitude to the US for its military and financial support to Ukraine, adding that his country nevertheless needs “permission to use long-range weapons.”
Zelenskiy went on to say, “I hope the relevant decision will be made.”
Meeting with Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State from 2018 to 2021.
We are grateful to the United States for its military and financial support to Ukraine. Due to this support, and assistance in strengthening the international coalition, we are making progress on the… pic.twitter.com/sK991IXyuf
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 13, 2024
Zelenskiy’s post comes ahead of a meeting between UK prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Joe Biden who are expected to discuss the possibility of Ukraine using Storm Shadow missiles for expanded strikes into Russia.
The European Commission has presented three new ways to EU ambassadors on renewing sanctions on Russia’s central bank assets, Reuters reports.
In June, G7 leaders and the EU agreed to use the interest on frozen Russian assets to support the G7 loan to Ukraine as part of its self-defense against Russia.
According to Reuters, the assets held by the G7 is valued at around $300 billion and that in order to secure the loan, the G7 wants to ensure that the sanctions on the assets are not lifted.
Speaking to Reuters, one diplomat said, “Possible options were presented this morning…already discussed with the US.”
Summary of the day so far …
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the UN security council on Friday that if western countries allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes in Russia then Nato countries would be “conducting direct war with Russia”. “The facts are that Nato will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power, I think you shouldn’t forget about this and think about the consequences,” Nebenzia told the 15-member council
The comments echo words from Russian president Vladimir Putin who on Thursday said any western decision to let Kyiv use such longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be “at war” with Moscow. On Friday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin had delivered a clear message to the west about the consequences of allowing Ukraine to hit Russian territory, and that there was no doubt that Putin’s message had reached those it was intended for
The UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer is in Washington to meet with US president Joe Biden later today, in which it is expected they will agree that Ukraine can use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside the Russian Federation
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been meeting foreign ministers from Poland and Lithuania in Kyiv today, and said they discussed “the need to use long-range weapons against military targets on the territory of the aggressor state”
The UK government has said that claims made by Russia’s security services about six members of British diplomatic staff it has expelled from Russia are “baseless”. The FSB security agency said on Friday it had taken the measure after uncovering documents showing that part of the Foreign Office was helping coordinate what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation” in Ukraine. Russian media has named and published photographs of the six British members of diplomatic staff who were expelled
Russia’s investigative committee has opened a criminal case against the head of Ukraine’s armed forces Maj Gen Dmitry Krasilnikov over the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Zelenskiy said today that the Kursk offensive had “slowed” Russia’s advance in east Ukraine
49 captured Ukrainian service personnel and civilians have been returned from captivity by Russia. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights, said “the state of health of the prisoners is very serious”
Nato said on Friday it strongly condemned a Russian missile strike on a civilian grain ship in the Black Sea on Thursday
The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region has claimed that air defences there have shot down seven Ukrainian drones in a day
Several people have been killed and injured by Russian strikes in Odesa, Sumy and Kherson
Rights campaigners say that as many 3,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Hungary have been affected by a new Hungarian decree that cancels state-funded shelters for refugees from western Ukraine
Russia to UN on long-range missile use: ‘Nato will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power’
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the UN security council on Friday that if western countries allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes in Russia then Nato countries would be “conducting direct war with Russia.”
“The facts are that Nato will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power, I think you shouldn’t forget about this and think about the consequences,” Nebenzia told the 15-member council.
The comments echo words from Russian president Vladimir Putin who on Thursday said any western decision to let Kyiv use such longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be “at war” with Moscow – a dramatic escalation of his rhetoric about the war which began with the Russian invasion in February 2022.
“This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict,” the Russian president told a state television reporter. “It would mean that Nato countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia. He added that Russia would take “appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face” as a result.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Putin had delivered a clear message to the west about the consequences of allowing Ukraine to hit Russian territory, and that there was no doubt that Putin’s message had reached those it was intended for.
The UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer is in Washington to meet with US president Joe Biden later today, in which it is expected they will agree that Ukraine can use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets inside the Russian Federation.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to social media about his meetings with the foreign ministers of Lithuania and Poland today.
He said:
We discussed important issues, including Russia’s ongoing terror, the need to use long-range weapons against military targets on the territory of the aggressor state, the implementation of bilateral security agreements and the peace formula, preparations for the second peace summit, and accelerating Ukraine’s accession to the EU and Nato. We are grateful to Lithuania and Poland for standing with us from the very beginning until our common victory.
Russia’s investigative committee has opened a criminal case against the head of Ukraine’s armed forces over the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, state-owned new agency Tass reports in Russia.
It says that as a result of action by Maj Gen Dmitry Krasilnikov, “a significant number of civilians were killed and wounded, residential buildings, civilian infrastructure facilities, and vehicles were destroyed and damaged. In addition, civilians living in the Kursk region were forced to leave their permanent places of residence.”
The European Commission has presented to EU ambassadors three new options to extend the sanctions renewal period covering Russia’s central bank assets, crucial to secure a $50bn G7 loan for Ukraine, Reuters reports EU diplomats said on Friday.
Nato condemns Russian missile strike on civilian ship in Black Sea
Nato said on Friday it strongly condemned a Russian missile strike on a civilian grain ship in the Black Sea on Thursday.
“There is no justification for such attacks. Yesterday’s strike shows once again the reckless nature of Russia’s war,” Reuters reports Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said.
Ukraine accused Russia on Thursday of using strategic bombers to strike a civilian grain vessel in Black Sea waters near Nato member Romania. It was the first time a missile has struck a civilian vessel transporting grains at sea since the start of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s minister of foreign affairs, has been in Kyiv today meeting sneior Ukraine leaders including Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and has just posted to social media that he is not there to offer “thoughts and prayers”, instead, he says he is there “to commit to victory, as short as it takes.”
The Russian embassy in London has said in a social media post that “the investments that the UK promised to send to Ukraine, like all the previous ones, will likely go up in smoke in the Special Military Operation zone or, more probably, disappear down the bottomless pockets of the corrupt Ukrainian elites.”
Zelenskiy: Kursk offensive ‘gave the results we expected’
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the Kursk offensive “slowed” Russia’s advance in east Ukraine, AFP reported.
It gave the results we expected, to be honest. In Kharkiv region, the enemy has been stopped, the progress in Donetsk region has been slowed down, although it is very difficult there.
The Ukrainian president said there are 40,000 Russian troops fighting in the Kursk region.
Earlier my colleagues Archie Bland and Dan Sabbagh put together this explainer on the issue of deploying “Storm Shadow” missiles in Ukraine for use against targets inside Russia.
The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region has claimed that air defences there have shot down seven Ukrainian drones in a day.
In his most recent update, Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram “An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using a UAV on the territory of the Bryansk region has been thwarted. There are no casualties or damage.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to Telegram about the latest prisoner exchange with Russia. Ukraine’s president said:
Another return of our people, for which we always wait and work for. 49 Ukrainian men and women at home. These are soldiers of the armed forces of Ukraine, the national guard, the national police, the state border service, as well as our civilians.
I thank our entire team, which ensures the release of prisoners and hostages from Russian captivity. We have to bring home all our soldiers and civilians.
