00:00Putin Draws New Red Line on Long-Range Missiles.
00:03The headline in this morning's Commercent newspaper captured the drama.
00:07Vladimir Putin draws his red line. Will the West cross it? And, if it does how will Russia respond?
00:15Speaking in St. Petersburg, President Putin sent a clear warning to the West
00:19don't allow Ukraine to use your long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.
00:23Moscow, he said, would view that as the direct participation of NATO countries in the war in
00:29Ukraine. It would substantially change the very essence, the nature of the conflict,
00:34the Kremlin leader continued. This will mean that NATO countries,
00:38the USA and European states are fighting with Russia. He claimed that for missile launches
00:43into Russia, Ukraine would require data from Western satellites and that only servicemen
00:48from NATO member states would be able to input flight missions into these missile systems.
00:53Russia has drawn red lines before. And seen them crossed before. On February 24,
00:592022 when he announced the start of his special military operation the full-scale invasion of
01:05Ukraine, President Putin issued a warning to those who may be tempted to interfere from the outside.
01:11No matter who tries to stand in our way or create threats for our country and our people,
01:16they must know that Russia will respond immediately, the Kremlin leader had declared.
01:20And the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history.
01:25Western leaders ignored what was widely interpreted at the time as nuclear saber-rattling.
01:31The West has since provided Ukraine with tanks, advanced missile systems and,
01:35most recently, F-16 American fighter jets. This year Russia has already accused Ukraine of using
01:42American long-range Adak-MS missiles to target Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia.
01:48What's more, over the last two years Russian officials and the state media here have on many
01:53occasions accused the West of fighting Russia or launching a war on Russia.
01:58Even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine. But from the tone of President Putin's latest
02:03remarks, it's clear he considers that the targeting of internationally recognized
02:07Russian territory with Western missile systems would take the conflict to a new level.
02:12What he didn't make clear yesterday is how Moscow would respond.
02:16We will take corresponding decisions based on the threats to us that will be created,
02:20Vladimir Putin said. On Friday, Russia withdrew the accreditation of six British diplomats
02:26accusing them of subversive activities and threatening Russia's security.
02:30But Putin's potential response is much broader. He offered some clues back in June. At a meeting
02:37with the heads of international news agencies, he was asked how would Russia react if Ukraine
02:42was given the opportunity to hit targets on Russian territory with weapons supplied by Europe.
02:47First, we will of course improve our air defense systems.
02:51We will be destroying their missiles, President Putin replied.
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