The Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow would use “a range of responses” if the US and NATO allow Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, according to his remarks published today.

“(The Russian Defense Ministry) is considering how it will respond to possible long-range strikes inside Russian territory, it will give a range of responses,” Putin told the reporter Pavel Zarubin of Russian state television, according to a video posted on Zarubin’s Telegram account.

The US has so far refused to allow Ukraine to strike targets deep inside Russian territory with the weapons it supplies, fearing an escalation that could lead to direct conflict between Moscow and Washington.

In September, Putin again warned that if the West allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with longer-range missiles, it would mean that “NATO countries are at war with Russia”.

“This will change the very nature of the conflict.”he had emphasized.