Putin says he plans to supply weapons to other countries for possible strikes on Western targets

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he plans to supply weapons to countries hostile to Western countries, a threat that comes after the United States gave Ukraine permission to strike with American-made weapons in a limited area of ​​Russia.

Putin, speaking to international journalists in a rare interview since the start of the Ukraine war, said President Biden granting Ukraine this authorization would constitute “direct involvement” in its war against Russia .

“We reserve the right to act in the same way,” he said on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg. “The answer could [be] asymmetrical, and we will think about it.

The United States and Germany have both given Ukraine the green light to use their weapons to strike inside Russia. Both countries have limits on weapons used to defend the northeastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces launched a new offensive last month.

The turnaround came after Ukraine repeatedly pushed the Biden administration to change policies the United States had implemented to avoid escalation with Russia. This push was renewed after the Kharkiv offensive, with which Ukrainian officials expressed frustration because Russia was mounting attacks from the neighboring Belgorod region without fearing a response from Ukraine.

The Hill reported that Ukraine struck Russia with a high-mobility artillery rocket system.

Biden told ABC News during his trip to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day that the United States does not authorize strikes 200 miles into Russia, and we do not authorize strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.

Asked if he was concerned about Putin's comments that the United States was directly participating in the war by allowing Ukraine to carry out such attacks, Biden said the Russian leader was “not an honest man “.

“He is a dictator and he is fighting to hold his country together while continuing this assault,” Biden said, repeating that the United States had only given permission to strike inside Russia to defend Kharkov.

Putin said Russia would defend itself against any Ukrainian attack by strengthening its air defense missiles and that if Moscow were to supply weapons to countries hostile to the United States and its Western allies, those countries' “sensitive facilities” could be targeted.

He argued, however, that it was the United States and its Western allies who escalated tensions.

“They made it worse,” he said. “And they will continue to deteriorate the international situation and undermine international security. »

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