Kremlin says Kyiv’s backers will face consequences after Putin says he may arm West’s enemies

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Thursday that Western nations which supply Ukraine with weapons to directly strike Russian territory will definitely face consequences after President Vladimir Putin said he was considering arming the West’s enemies in retaliation.

Speaking with senior editors of international news agencies in St Petersburg on Wednesday, the Russian leader said Moscow was thinking about supplying advanced long-range weapons – of a similar nature to those the West is giving Ukraine – to the West’s adversaries around the world.

Putin in his comments mentioned long-range missiles being supplied to Ukraine by the United States and Britain, hinting he might move to arm forces fighting their overseas interests.

“We are thinking that if someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone in order to strike at our territory and create problems for us, then why do we not have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to those regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those countries that are doing this to Russia?” said Putin.

“So the response could be symmetrical. We will think about this.”

Putin’s comments raised the possibility of Moscow supplying long-range missiles to groups which oppose U.S. and British interests in areas of tension such as the Middle East.

When asked on Thursday if the Kremlin would name countries or regions to which Russia might supply arms in this way, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:

“Of course not. The president said exactly what he wanted to say, and it’s a very important statement that is very transparent that the supply of weapons that will be fired at us cannot go without consequences, and those consequences are certain to come.”

President Joe Biden has authorised Kyiv to launch some U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets inside Russia, sources told Reuters last month. Washington still prohibits Kyiv from striking Russia with ATACMS, which have a range of up to 186 miles (300 km), and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, during a visit to Kyiv on May 3, told Reuters Ukraine had a right to use the weapons provided by Britain to strike targets inside Russia, and it was up to Kyiv whether to do so.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a former president who has emerged as one of the Kremlin’s most outspoken hawks, on Thursday elaborated on what Moscow was considering, saying that Putin’s words represented “a very significant change” in Russian foreign policy.

“Let the US and its allies now feel the direct use of Russian weapons by third parties. These persons or regions are intentionally not named, but they could be anyone who considers Pindostan (derogatory Russian word for the United States) and its comrades to be their enemies,” Medvedev wrote on his official Telegram channel.

“Regardless of their political beliefs and international recognition. Their enemy is the US, so they are our friends.”

He spoke of what he called “sensitive facilities” belonging to the US and it allies burning after being struck with Russian missiles fired by “third parties.”

“And we will rejoice at their successful strikes with our weapons against our common enemies!” said Medvedev.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow and Andrew Osborn in London; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Heavens)