Putin ally warns Russia has ‘every right’ to attack NATO | World | News
A senior Russian official has warned that Vladimir Putin is within his rights to target NATO countries backing Ukraine amid rising tensions over military aid to Kyiv.
Andrey Kartapolov, who leads the defence committee in Russia‘s State Duma, argued that Western arms supplies allowing attacks on Russian soil entitle Moscow “every right to strike military facilities in NATO countries” aiding Ukraine.
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin added, “Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has made a decision that we fully support”.
He hailed the strategy as “an appropriate and long-awaited response,” accusing the US and its European allies of “using missiles to strike Russian territory.”
He added: “Our country has the right to target military facilities of states that attack us. Despite Western claims that Russia will not dare to act, it will-and it has every right to do so.”
These statements follow a significant intensification in the conflict as Ukraine has recently employed Storm Shadow missiles from the UK to hit targets inside Russia.
In retaliation, Russia deployed its hypersonic “Oreshnik” missile, hitting a military site in Ukraine‘s Dnipro region.
President Putin boasted about Russia‘s new hypersonic capabilities, declaring the Oreshnik missile’s successful combat debut to the world.
The missile has a top speed of Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound (about 7,000 mph), and the ability to outmanoeuvre sophisticated Western defence mechanisms.
While NATO allies remain wary amid surging tensions, Hungarian Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky has allowed advanced air defence installations to be positioned in Hungary’s northeast, close to Ukraine due to unprecedented escalatory threats.
Volodymyr Zelensky has condemned the West for seemingly capitulating to Putin’s strategy: “What is needed are strong actions that will force him to peace, not persuasion,” Zelensky demanded.
