Washington’s decision to allow kyiv to deep attack Russia with long-range US missiles escalates the conflict in Ukraine and could lead to World War III, senior Russian lawmakers said on Sunday.
Two US officials and a source familiar with the decision revealed early Sunday the significant shift in Washington policy on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
“The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end up with the Ukrainian state in complete ruins by morning,” Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app.
Vladimir Dzhabarov, first vice-president of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Upper House, stated that Moscow’s response will be immediate.
“This is a big step towards the start of World War III,” Dzhabarov said, quoted by the state news agency TASS.
The president Vladimir Putin He said in September that the West would fight Russia directly if it allowed Ukraine to attack Russian territory with long-range, Western-made missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.
Russia would be forced to make what Putin called “appropriate decisions” based on new threats.
Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma, stated that the authorization by the United States of kyiv’s attacks against Russia with American ATACMS tactical missiles would result in the harshest responseaccording to Russian news agencies.
“American missile strikes deep in Russian regions will inevitably lead to serious escalation, which threatens to lead to much more serious consequences,” Slutsky said, quoted by the TASS news agency.
