LONDON (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that Russia would attack new targets if the United States began supplying Ukraine with more powerful missiles, TASS news agency reported on Sunday.
If these missiles are supplied, “we will attack those targets that we have not yet hit,” Putin said in an excerpt from an interview with Rossiya-1 state television.
Putin did not name the targets Russia planned to pursue if Western countries began supplying Ukraine with larger-scale missiles. He said the “commotion” over the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine was designed to prolong the conflict.
Ukraine has been looking for multiple rocket launch systems (MLRS) such as the M270 and M142 HIMARS to attack troops and weapons reserves in the rear of Russian forces.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced this week his plans to give Ukraine precision HIMARS rocket systems after receiving assurances from Kyiv that he would not use them to hit targets inside Russia.
Although Russian officials have warned that the US decision to supply Ukraine with advanced rocket systems could exacerbate the conflict, Putin said it would not lead to any fundamental changes on the battlefield.
“We understand that this supply (of advanced rocket systems) from the United States and other countries is intended to offset the loss of this military equipment,” Putin said.
“This is nothing new. It doesn’t change anything in essence.”
In an excerpt from the same interview on Saturday, Putin boasted that Russian anti-aircraft forces have shot down dozens of Ukrainian weapons and “are breaking them like nuts.”
(Reuters Report; Guy Faulconbridge Edition)