Vladimir Putin has claimed the West has pushed him to his ‘red lines’ after telling defence officials that Moscow was watching the US potential deployment of short and medium-range missiles with concern
Vladimir Putin has chillingly threatened to lift missile restrictions on Russia after accusing the West of pushing its “red lines” amid fears of WW3.
He told a meeting of defence officials that the country was watching the US development and potential deployment of short and medium-range missiles with concern. The Russian leader warned Moscow would lift all of its own voluntary restrictions on the deployment of its own missiles if the US went ahead and deployed missiles.
The dictator said Russian forces in Ukraine has taken control of 189 settlements so far this year, and warned Russia’s nuclear weapons were there for deterrence.
It comes just days after Russia launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine on Friday, firing 93 cruise and ballistic missiles and almost 200 drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing it as one of the heaviest bombardments of the country’s energy sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago.
Ukrainian defenses shot down 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles that were intercepted by F-16 warplanes provided by Western allies earlier this year, Zelenskyy said.
Russia is “terrorizing millions of people” with such assaults, he said on his Telegram channel, renewing his plea for international unity against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction. This is the only way to stop terror,” Zelenskyy said.
But uncertainty surrounds how the war might unfold next year. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next month, has vowed to end the war and has thrown into doubt whether vital U.S. military support for Kyiv will continue.
In Moscow, the Defence Ministry said the Russian military used long-range precision missiles and drones on “critically important fuel and energy facilities in Ukraine that ensure the functioning of the military industrial complex.”
The strike was in retaliation for Wednesday’s Ukrainian attack using U.S.-supplied the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, on a Russian air base, it said.
Trump said in an interview published in TIME magazine on Thursday that he was against allowing Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil using U.S. provided weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Trump’s stance “conforms to our position.”
“In this case, we have a shared vision of causes of escalation and that is positive. Obviously, Trump realizes what escalates the conflict,” Peskov told reporters.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said Friday’s attack also targeted transport networks and other key facilities. Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, DTEK, said the attack “seriously damaged” its thermal power plants.
Russia has repeatedly attempted to cripple Ukraine’s electricity system in an effort to break the will of civilians left in the dark with no running water or heating and to disrupt Ukrainian defense manufacturing.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said energy workers were doing everything necessary to “minimize negative consequences for the energy system,” promising to release more details on damages once the security situation allowed it.
