The Russian government stated that NATO incites Ukraine to continue a “senseless war.” In turn, he accused them of “increasing tensions” due to their statements supporting kyiv’s attacks against Russian territory, within the framework of the conflict between both nations that broke out in February 2022.
“NATO member countries, especially the United States and other European capitals, have entered a new round of increased tensions in recent days and weeks. “They do it deliberately,” said this Thursday the Russian government spokesman Dimitri Peskov; who also accused these countries of making “warlike statements.”
“They seek to provoke a new level of tension and try through all possible means to provoke Ukraine to continue this senseless war,” the official said, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. “They are the ones who intend to continue the war with us, literally and figuratively,” he then accused.
NATO gave the green light to Ukraine to attack Russia
The statements on behalf of the Kremlin come after the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in which Ukraine’s right to defense includes the scenario of attacking Russia on its own territory. He also argued that this would not involve bringing the allies of the Atlantic Alliance into the war.
“He right of self-defense also includes attack targets outside Ukrainelegitimate military targets inside Russia, and this is especially relevant now because the most intense fighting is taking place in the Kharkiv region, near the Russian-Ukrainian border,” Stoltenberg said during the debate within the EU and of NATO.
The axis of the discussion is whether Ukraine’s allies have to allow kyiv to use the defense systems sent in the framework of the war to pursue military objectives on Russian territory.
The debate has intensified after the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has opened its doors to Ukraine attacking military targets in Russia using Western weapons, after pointing out that it is not “contradictory” to the Law of War, a position that countries such as the Netherlands and Estonia have subscribed to. However, partners such as Germany, Italy or Belgium do not share it.
For its part, Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned NATO countries on Tuesday, “especially the small ones,” of the risks involved in supporting Ukraine to use Western weapons against targets on Russian territory. “The representatives of NATO member countries, especially the small countries of Europe, must become aware of what they are playing with,” the Kremlin leader launched in a forceful message.
Source: Ambito
