Putin warns of 'serious consequences' if Ukraine uses Western weapons to attack Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on May 28 that there would be "serious consequences" if Western countries allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to attack targets in Russia, as Kiev wanted.
Mr Putin's warning came in response to calls from some NATO members as well as alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg to allow Ukraine to use its weapons to step up attacks on Russian soil, in a bid to end more than two years of war.
“This continued escalation could lead to serious consequences,” Putin said during a visit to Uzbekistan. “In Europe, especially in small countries, they should realize what kind of game they are playing,” Putin said, noting that many European countries have “small territories” and “large populations.” “And this factor, which they should take into account before talking about advancing into Russian territory, is a serious one,” he stressed. Putin added that even if Ukrainian forces carried out attacks, responsibility would still lie with Western arms suppliers. “They want a global conflict,” Putin criticized. Western countries have long been wary of being seen as belligerents in the Ukrainian conflict by supporting Kiev.
President Putin said that although he believed Western military instructors had come to Ukraine to operate secretly as mercenaries, any move by the countries sending them officially would be a further "escalation."
Ukraine's top commander announced on Monday that talks were underway with France about sending military instructors to Ukraine. "This is another step towards a serious conflict in Europe, towards a global conflict," Putin said. "There are specialists there under the guise of mercenaries," he added, adding that "this is nothing new." President Putin said they would be "defeated" by the Russian military because "we will do what we think is necessary regardless of who is on Ukrainian territory."
European countries are divided over sending military instructors to Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after a meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels, with countries including Germany opposed to taking a step they fear could bring them closer to direct conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia.
EU countries have trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops outside the war-torn country under a bloc-wide mission set for 2022./.
