Putin threatens NATO with ‘getting dragged into war’ over Ukraine’s long-range strikes, British prime minister responds

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has responded to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s threat that any use of British long-range missiles on Russian territory would lead to a NATO war with his country.

Starmer told reporters about this on his way to the United States, according to The Guardian.

Starmer said that Vladimir Putin started the war in Ukraine and could end it at any time. On his way to Washington to meet with US President Joe Biden, the British Prime Minister spoke to journalists, anticipating a discussion about limiting long-range strikes against Russia.

“Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can immediately end this conflict. Ukraine has the right to self-defence,” Starmer said, responding to the Russian leader’s threats.

He added that the UK had provided “training and capabilities” to help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion and said he was visiting the US president in part because “clearly there are further discussions about the nature of those capabilities.”

The British prime minister said he would not comment directly on the Storm Shadow strikes but added that he wanted to make sure that “all the decisions we make are in a strategic context.”

Starmer stated, “There will be some really significant developments in the coming weeks and months, both in Ukraine and in the Middle East, necessitating a number of tactical decisions.”

A day earlier, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin stated that allowing Ukraine to launch long-range missiles at Russian territory meant “direct participation” NATO in the war with Russia.

He said this on September 12, in a commentary to Russian propagandist Pavel Zarubin.

According to Putin, the discussion about allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range missiles actually means something completely different, because the Ukrainian army “cannot” carry out such strikes on its own.

“This is possible only with the use of intelligence from satellites, which Ukraine does not have; it is data only from EU or US—in general, NATO satellites,” he said.

Furthermore, the Kremlin master maintained, in his view, that “only NATO military personnel can operate long-range systems.”

“We are talking about deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved in a military conflict or not. If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, and European countries in the war in Ukraine,” Putin stated.

In this case, he added, Russia will make “appropriate decisions in view of the threats that will be created for us.”

In recent weeks, Ukraine has been requesting permission from its Western allies to use the weapons it has received to strike targets on Russian territory, specifically airfields that house aircraft and launch long-range missiles towards Ukrainian cities.

According to Politico, the White House is finalising a plan to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory.

The Guardian reported that the UK has already decided to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles against targets in Russia.