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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the United States had given Kiev a blank check and full authorization to use long-range weapons to launch strikes deep inside Russian territory, noting that Moscow’s reactions would be “very harsh.”
“The Russian president has said everything about this. The decision (to allow Kiev to launch attacks) is there, a blank check, full authorization and facilities have been given to Kiev’s agents. Therefore, we will respond harshly. There is an element of serious risk here, because opponents in Washington, London and elsewhere clearly underestimate the degree of seriousness of the game they continue to play,” Ryabkov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
As the deputy minister earlier told TASS on the sidelines of the BRICS media summit, Russia knows that the West has already made decisions on strikes deep into Russian territory and sent appropriate signals to Kiev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously declared that Ukraine would not be able to strike deep inside Russia without Western support, because it needed intelligence from satellites and air missions to do so.
The Russian president also noted that NATO countries are not simply discussing Ukraine’s use of long-range Western weapons, but are essentially deciding whether to directly engage in the Ukrainian conflict. He noted that Moscow will make decisions based on the threats that will appear to the Russian Federation.
