Putin warns US, NATO risk war with Russia if long-range strike bans lifted for Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week issued an ominous warning against the U.S. and its NATO allies and said they risk being "at war" with Moscow if Ukraine is allowed to use long-range weapons to hit targets inside Russia.

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing the U.S. and NATO for months to remove any and all restrictions they have on Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons and permit it to hit military targets deep in Russia. 

But Putin on Thursday drew a red line and said, "This will mean that NATO countries, the U.S. and European countries are at war with Russia." 

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"And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us," he added, according to a translation posted by NBC News. 

The comments were issued one day ahead of talks at the White House where President Biden will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss lifting the current strike bans on Friday.

Putin did not lay out what actions Russia would take against the West should Washington and London lift their strike restrictions, but the Kremlin chief has long relied on escalated rhetoric in his war strategy to deter Western aid for Ukraine. 

Since the onslaught of the war, Putin has warned NATO against supplying Kyiv with lethal aid, and at nearly every step of the way he has warned the war could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders – a strategy that one expert says has achieved its intended effect on Washington. 

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"Putin's war in Ukraine has been a massive failure – hundreds of thousands of casualties, a brain drain, a million Russians have fled, Sweden and Finland are now NATO members, the list goes on," former CIA Moscow station chief Dan Hoffman told Fox News Digital. "The only thing he succeeded at is rhetorical nuclear brinkmanship and other threats, trying to induce the Biden administration not to give Ukraine what they need, when they need it, to defend themselves."

Hoffman said Putin’s remarks were likely tailored to President Biden and his administration, which has repeatedly been slow to send Ukraine sorely needed defense equipment like tanks, F-16s and long-range ATACMS missiles before then reversing course and eventually agreeing to send the top weaponry.

"He makes these threats because he knows they work," Hoffman argued. "We shouldn't be micromanaging how [Ukrainians] conduct their war. 

"Just give them the weapons. They have every lawful right to defend themselves," he added. 

Defense officials on both sides of the aisle have argued it behooves the U.S. and NATO to arm Kyiv in its war against Russia, as many believe Putin will not stop with his deadly ambitions in Europe if he gains a win in Ukraine. 

It remains to be seen whether Putin will actually escalate the war beyond Russia and Ukraine’s borders, should Biden and Starmer agree on Friday to lift strike bans. 

Though White House national security communications advisor John Kirby told reporters Friday not to expect any announcement regarding the strike bans. 

"I wouldn't be looking for an announcement today, about the long range strike capabilities," he said. "There's no change to our policy with respect to that."

Russian officials have been drawing "red lines" since 2022, along with issuing warnings that the U.S. would become "a party to the conflict" by providing Ukraine with defensive aid. 

Starmer responded to Putin’s apparent threat while aboard his flight to D.C. on Thursday and told a reporter for The Guardian, "Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. Ukraine has the right to self-defense."