Vladimir Putin responds in strong terms to Jens Stoltenberg's statements that NATO countries should allow Ukraine to attack Russia with Western weapons.
The short version
- Vladimir Putin responds strongly to Jens Stoltenberg's proposal to allow Ukraine to attack legitimate targets in Russia with Western weapons.
- Putin warns small countries against escalating the situation.
- Stoltenberg is accused of losing his mind since he was Prime Minister of Norway.
- Expert Bali Yedstepo believes that Putin's rhetoric is familiar and he is trying to prevent Ukraine from using Western weapons.
He also makes a personal attack on the Norwegian.
It is time for the allies to consider lifting some of the restrictions they imposed on the use of weapons they donated to Ukraine. The Economist in the weekend.
Stoltenberg pointed out that most of the fighting is now taking place in the Kharkiv region, close to the border with Russia.
– The NATO Secretary General said that it would be very difficult for Ukraine to defend itself by denying it the opportunity to use these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory.
Putin responded to these statements during his visit to the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan on Tuesday:
The Russian President says that this continued escalation could lead to serious consequences.
Putin says that small countries “must be aware of what they are playing with” because their land areas are small and their population density is large.
– This is a factor they must take into consideration before they talk about striking deep into Russian territory. Putin says, according to what Reuters reported, that this is a dangerous matter, and of course we are following it closely.
He also launches a personal attack on Jens Stoltenberg – which has been reprinted by several major Russian media outlets:
– When he was Prime Minister of Norway, we had a connection. Then we solved difficult questions about the Barents Sea and more, and were able to agree. “At that time he did not suffer from dementia, I am absolutely sure of that,” says Putin. palm.
Lieutenant Colonel Bali Yedstepo at the Military Academy was not surprised by the Russian President's statements:
– His complaints to other managers that everything was much better before is quite normal from this side.
We should instead try to see what Putin is trying to achieve with what he says rather than what he implies. Yedstepo continues, saying that this type of statement gets the Russians into trouble.
-What is he trying to achieve?
– As has happened in the past, when it comes to new Western weapons, the Russians have tried to stop them, for example by threatening nuclear weapons or threatening individual NATO countries. They tried to deliver ambiguous messages about consequences and escalation, as Putin is doing here.
– Actually, we've heard it all before, concludes Ydstebø.
– Everything is aimed at preventing Ukraine from obtaining better Ukrainian weapons, and in this case using them on Russian territory.
– What do you think about this specific case?
– It is ridiculous that Ukraine is not allowed to attack legitimate targets in Russia with the same type of weapons that Ukraine receives from the West as long as Russia attacks Ukraine with weapons that it receives from countries such as North Korea and Iran. If Ukraine were denied attacking Russian military targets with these weapons, it would force Ukraine to fight with one arm on its back, Bali Yedstepo says.
On Tuesday evening, Norwegian time, Washington said it was still out of the question that the United States would allow Ukraine to use American weapons against Russian targets.
– There is no change in our position here now. John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, says that we do not encourage or permit the use of weapons supplied by the United States against Russian territory.
It has now been more than two years since Russia declared full-scale war on Ukraine. The West is considering what to do to stop Russia's recent military advance.
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