Putin warned that Russia may provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets

street. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) – President Russian President Vladimir Putin Germany warned on Wednesday that Ukraine’s use of its weapons to strike inside Russia would represent a “dangerous step,” and said Moscow could in turn provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

Speaking to senior news leaders at international news agencies, including the Associated Press, he added that such action by the West would further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems.”

“This would represent their direct participation in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act in the same way,” Putin added.

Because the use of such Western weapons requires military personnel from those countries to control missiles and select targets, Putin said Moscow could take “asymmetric” steps elsewhere in the world.

He added: “If they see that it is possible to deliver such weapons to the combat zone to launch strikes on our territory and create problems for us, then why do we not have the right to supply weapons of the same type to some regions of the world where they can?” Can it be used to launch strikes on sensitive facilities belonging to countries that do this in Russia?

“We will think about it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

Germany joined the United States And recently by allowing Ukraine to strike some targets on Russian territory with long-range weapons supplied by Kiev. He said the delivery of German tanks to Ukraine was a shock to many in Russia.

He added: “Now if they use missiles to strike facilities on Russian territory, this will completely destroy Russian-German relations.”

Wednesday, A Western official and an American senator She said Ukraine used American weapons to strike Russia under Newly approved guidance from President Joe Biden. It allows the use of American weapons for the limited purpose of defence Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine. The official was not authorized to comment publicly on this sensitive matter, and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Responding to questions from international journalists for the first time since his inauguration last month for a fifth term, Putin also said that nothing would change regarding Russian-American relations regardless of whether Biden or Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November.

“We will work with any president elected by the American people,” Putin said.

He added: “I say in all honesty, I will not say that we believe that after the elections something will change on the Russian path in American politics.” “We don’t think so. We think nothing serious will happen.”

Putin also said Trump convicted of a felony What happened in his silent financial trial last week was the result of “the use of the court system as part of an internal political struggle.”

The Russian leader faced questions on various topics, although more than two years of fighting in Ukraine dominated the session.

Putin claimed that the West had opportunities to end the fighting in Ukraine but had not acted on them, citing a letter he supposedly once wrote to Biden in which he said hostilities could end in two or three months if Washington stopped supplying weapons to Kiev.

In response to a question about Russian military losses, Putin said that no country would disclose this information during hostilities, but claimed without providing details that Ukraine’s losses were five times greater than Russia’s.

He added that Ukraine has more than 1,300 Russian soldiers in captivity, while there are more than 6,400 Ukrainian soldiers detained in Russia.

These allegations could not be independently verified.

On other topics, Putin said the United States is “taking active steps” to secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich, an American who has been imprisoned for more than a year while on a press trip and has been accused of espionage. Gershkovitch, his employer, and the United States have denied the allegations, and Washington has declared that he is being unjustly detained.

Putin said any such release “is not decided through the media” but through a “discreet, calm and professional approach.”

He added: “It is certain that a decision regarding it should only be taken on the basis of reciprocity,” referring to a possible exchange of prisoners.

Putin used it St. Petersburg Forum As an offer to promote Russia’s development and search for investors. Although meetings with journalists were part of previous sessions, he did not take questions from Western journalists at the event in St. Petersburg since sending troops to Ukraine.

Last year, journalists from countries deemed unfriendly by Russia — including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union — were not invited, and Western officials and investors stayed away from the session after wide-ranging sanctions were imposed on Moscow over Ukraine.

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Associated Press writer Amer Madhani in Washington contributed.