Putin's warning yesterday left British PM Starmer unimpressed – The Times
Following yesterday's harsh reaction from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the prospect of Ukraine being given the right to strike Russian territory with Western long-range missiles, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared his unwillingness to fight Russia.
According to his words, quoted by The Times, London does not intend to get drawn into a war with Russia in Ukraine, as Putin and other Russian officials have assessed, but intends to "support Kyiv's right to self-defense ." As a reminder, Putin threatened to consider Ukraine's long-range Western weapons strikes on Russian territory as direct NATO involvement in the war.
"We are not looking for any conflict with Russia, that is not in the least part of our plans. But they started this conflict and Ukraine has a right to self-defence," Starmer said.
He continues to assert that Russia is acting "illegally" and that it "has the power to end this conflict immediately." Starmer also announced that he plans to discuss support for Ukraine with US President Joe Biden . He also stated his intention to discuss strategy, "not just tactics," in his conversation with the White House.
The publication notes that Starmer remains true to form, recalling how Zelenskyy appealed to him back in the summer to "show leadership" and help with Ukraine's "long-range capabilities ." According to the head of Bankova, lifting restrictions will help Kyiv destroy weapons concentrations in Russia, as well as strengthen its defenses and secure its positions on the front lines.
According to The Times' sources, the US will allow Ukraine to use British and French long-range missiles to strike Russian territory as early as this month, but will deny the use of its own similar weapons, the ATACMS missiles. Biden hopes to avoid further escalation of the conflict by doing so.
Russia is confident that Kyiv cannot use Western missiles independently—it requires intelligence data from Western satellites. According to Vladimir Putin, flight instructions for long-range missile systems are entered exclusively by military specialists from the country that produces these weapons.
"And therefore, it is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of making a decision about whether NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict or not," this is essentially the official position of the Russian Federation on this issue.
Putin's warning yesterday failed to impress British Prime Minister Starmer – The Times