Vladimir Putin Threatens New Missile Targets If US Continues Helping Ukraine with Military Weapons

Vladimir Putin has vowed to hit additional targets if the US provides Ukraine with longer-range weapons.

On Sunday (June 5), Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a terrifying warning, saying the US should be wary of arming the beleaguered country for use in high-precision mobile missile systems. The US has ruled out sending its military to Ukraine; nonetheless, Washington and its European allies have given Kyiv armaments such as drones, Howitzer heavy artillery, and other equipment.

Putin's Warning Over Western Weapons Sent to Ukraine

President Joe Biden recently stated that the United States will equip Zelensky's country with M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS after the capital promised them that they would not be used to harm Russia. Vladimir Putin said the arms supplies were nothing new, but he warned that if the US sent longer-range munitions with a maximum range of 300 km (185 miles) or more, there would be a reaction.

"If longer range missiles are supplied, we will strike at those targets which we have not yet been hitting," Putin told the Rossiya-1 state television channel in an interview. Putin stated that the range of the Lockheed Martin HIMARS systems was dependent on the ammunition given and that the range reported by the US was roughly the same as the range of Soviet-made missile systems that Ukraine already had, according to Daily Star.

The Russian president also addressed Kyiv's ostensible assurances to the West that these rocket systems would not be used against Russian territory. The US administration said on June 1 that it will deliver Ukraine a new military aid package, including HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) equipment and ammunition. The first batch would have four rocket systems.

The strike range of a light HIMARS mobile rocket launcher would not exceed 80 kilometers. Kyiv pledged that the US missile systems would not be used against targets on Russian territory, as desired by the US government. On June 2, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Kiev's pledges that it would not employ US rockets against targets on Russian soil were meaningless and untrustworthy, as per LiveMint.

Russia's 11th General Dies in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin was dealt a blow today with the death of Russia's 11th general in his brutal conflict with Ukraine. According to accounts, Major-General Roman Kutuzov was the chief of staff of the 29th Combined Arms Army. His car was attacked by Ukrainians and he perished in a skirmish in Donbas. His is the 11th general's death, but the first of such a high-ranking army official in more than a decade.

Lt-Col Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of the 4th battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov special forces unit, was the most recent. He has a strong relationship with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kutuzov was the commander of Russia's vast Eastern Military District's combined weapons organization in 2020. Kanamat 'Flop Gun' Botashev, 63, was the previous general to be assassinated.

He was a 'pensioner pilot' who had come out of retirement to fly in Putin's military when he was struck in his Su-25. A Ukrainian Stinger missile is said to have shot him down. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Western countries are supporting Ukraine in its pursuit of high-ranking Russian officers. According to Russian authorities, Kutuzov was killed near the frontline in the Nikolaevka hamlet in the Popasnyansky sector of the Luhansk People's Republic, Daily Mail reported.