(IntegrityTimes.com) – It has been over two years since Russian force invaded Ukraine, and there is no sign of the conflict ending any time soon.
The world has mostly sided with Ukraine, and many nations have sent supplies to Ukraine while levying sanctions on Russia. However, no nation has openly declared war on Russia and their help for Ukraine is carefully balanced to avoid that. Recently, President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use American supplied weapons to strike within Russia. As Ukraine was previously only allowed to use them to defend against Russian attacks along the border, this is a notable shift. On Wednesday June 6, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin made a public statement regarding the change.
The US is not the only country to make the change. Germany has also recently reversed their earlier position, now authorizing Ukraine to use German-supplied weapons for attacks on Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated they need to use the foreign-supplied weapons across the border in order to defend the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. President Biden clarified that the weapons were still to be used for defensive missions. The Ukraine is not permitted to use American-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles offensively at this time.
Even with some restrictions still in place, the Russian president clearly sees this as an escalation on the part of Ukraine’s allies. He commented that if Western nations see fit to supply Ukraine with weapons against Russia, then he may be justified in supplying enemies of the West with similar weapons for use against them. He further stated that Germany giving Ukraine permission to use long-range German-made weapons on targets within Russia is damaging Russian-German relations.
Warning that Russia could retaliate if Western nations become directly involved in the Ukraine conflict, Putin said they reserve the right to respond against them as well. Military recruiting in the U.S. is facing critically low numbers and direct involvement in the war is unpopular among Americans. Ukraine continues to suffer from military personnel challenges as well. Putin dismissed the idea that Russia will expand their attacks onto other nations as nonsense, though. However, he also commented that the of use nuclear weapons is something Russia is not opposed to if they feel their sovereignty and territorial integrity are threatened.
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