Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia would be at “war” with NATO if Western countries lift missile restrictions in Ukraine. The announcement came shortly after Russian military planes were spotted flying off the coast of Alaska.
President Biden, along with other Western leaders, is under intense pressure to lift a U.S. ban on Ukraine using American long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia.
“This means that NATO countries – the United States and European countries – are at war with Russia. If this happens, we will take appropriate decisions in response to the threat posed to us, bearing in mind the changing nature of the conflict,” Putin told reporters on Thursday.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will arrive in Washington DC on Friday for talks with President Biden, with the talks expected to focus primarily on attacks using Western weapons on Russian soil.
The Biden administration is under increasing pressure to allow Russia to attack Ukraine with US missiles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Russia-Mongolian summit in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on September 3, 2024. Putin is on a four-day visit to the eastern Russian and Mongolian regions. (Photo: Contributor/Getty Images)
The United States scrambled Russian fighter jets on Thursday after spotting the plane flying over the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a post on X that it detected and intercepted the plane, but that it did not violate US or Canadian airspace.
“Russian activity in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone is not considered a threat, and NORAD will monitor competitor activity near North America and respond accordingly.”
Latvia and Romania acknowledge Russian incursion into NATO territory
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Foreign Secretary David Lammy speak at the British ambassador's residence in Washington, DC, before meeting with President Biden, Friday, September 13, 2024.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has raised doubts that allowing unrestricted use of U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles could change the tide of the war.
“I think the relationship between the Pentagon advising the president based on intelligence and international pressure is a really interesting part of this story,” Seth Krummich, a retired Army colonel and vice president of the international security firm Global Guardian, told Fox News Digital.
Ahead of the talks, Moscow announced it had revoked the credentials of six British diplomats in Russia over allegations of espionage.
A glide bomb can be seen under the wing of a Russian Air Force Su-34 bomber during a combat mission over Ukraine. Ukraine has been pleading with the West to allow it to use ATACMS for attacks inside Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Office, via Associated Press)
Click here to get the FOX News app
Putin on Thursday questioned whether Ukraine could use long-range missiles to launch attacks on its own without targeting support from Western intelligence. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot use cutting-edge, high-precision long-range systems supplied by the West without NATO targeting support,” Putin warned.
“The real risk here is either a fabricated event by Russia using disinformation or, this is no joke, a mistake in the use of long-range missiles provided by the West or NATO that could trigger a war or major tensions,” Krummich said.
