Putin Escalates Threats Over Western Support for Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has intensified warnings to countries supplying Ukraine with weapons used against Russian territory. He declared that Moscow reserves the right to target military assets in those nations, marking a significant escalation in rhetoric as the war drags on.

The warning came shortly after Russia launched a medium-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday. The missile, believed to carry multiple warheads, was reportedly used in combat for the first time. Experts see this as a worrying development in the ongoing conflict. Putin also claimed that Ukraine’s use of missiles from the US, UK, and France to target Russian territory had turned the regional war into “a global nature.”

The Kremlin defended the missile strike, calling it a response to “reckless decisions” by Western countries to arm Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that supplying weapons to Ukraine and aiding strikes on Russian territory would not go unanswered. Moscow’s actions, he said, were necessary to counter these perceived threats.

Russia’s relationship with North Korea has also deepened, raising alarms globally. According to South Korea’s national security adviser, Moscow has supplied North Korea with air-defence systems and anti-air missiles in exchange for troops to bolster Russia’s forces. Reports suggest that over a million barrels of oil have been shipped from Russia to North Korea since March, likely violating UN sanctions. Satellite imagery analysis indicates that approximately 11,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region.

The UK has reaffirmed its readiness to confront Russia if the conflict expands. Rob Magowan, deputy chief of the British defence staff, emphasised that Britain’s armed forces could respond immediately if Russia invaded another Eastern European nation. “If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight,” he told a parliamentary committee on Thursday.

Ukraine’s parliament cancelled its Friday session due to fears of missile strikes.

Meanwhile, China has called for calm following the escalation. Beijing urged all parties to exercise restraint and focus on dialogue to de-escalate tensions. The Chinese foreign ministry reiterated its public position that the crisis should be resolved politically to avoid further escalation. However, NATO has previously accused China of indirectly enabling Russia’s war by exporting dual-use goods to bolster its defence sector, a claim Beijing denies.