President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia may supply long-range weapons to enemies of the West in retaliation for the United States and its NATO allies sending arms to Ukraine, according to reports.
The Russian leader, speaking to international journalists in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, suggested he would arm the West's adversaries around the globe with the same advanced weapons the West is providing Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia.
"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?" Putin said, Reuters reported.
"So the response could be symmetrical. We will think about this," he said.
The Kremlin on Thursday reinforced Putin's comments.
"They need to reckon with us and our position. We won't compromise our interests," Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Asked which countries Russia might supply, Peskov wouldn't elaborate.
"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," he said.
Putin's threat comes as many European leaders gathered in France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
President Joe Biden speaking at the ceremony pledged that the West "will not walk away" from defending Ukraine.
"To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable," Biden said, the Associated Press reported. "If we were to do that, it means we'd be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also attending the ceremonies in Normandy.
Putin was not invited #mce_temp_url#to take part in the events by France because of Russia's "war of aggression" on Ukraine.
