Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov cautions the United States on potential severe repercussions if U.S. weapons are used against Russian targets.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov issued a stern warning to the United States on Monday, stating that Washington could face “fatal consequences” if it allows Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons to strike targets within Russia.
Ryabkov’s comments follow President Joe Biden’s decision last week to permit Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons against locations in Russia involved in attacks on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. “I would like to warn American leaders against miscalculations that could have fatal consequences. For unknown reasons, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive,” Ryabkov told the state news agency RIA.
This warning aligns with recent statements from President Vladimir Putin, who cautioned NATO countries about the risks of provoking a deeper global conflict. “I urge these figures (in the U.S.) … to spend some of their time, which they apparently spend on some kind of video games, judging by the lightness of their approach, on studying what was said in detail by Putin,” Ryabkov remarked, emphasizing the gravity of Putin’s warning.
Putin has claimed that any use of Western weapons by Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia would implicate the West directly, due to the need for satellite, intelligence, and military support from NATO countries. He described such actions as playing with fire and risking significant escalation.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg defended the alliance’s actions, stating that NATO has the right to help Ukraine defend itself, which does not make NATO a party to the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed gratitude to Washington for allowing the use of U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket systems in the Kharkiv region but emphasized that more support is needed. Ukraine has consistently argued that limitations on Western-supplied weapons hinder its defense capabilities.
Ryabkov also warned that any attempts by Kyiv to target Russian early-warning radar systems would be countered and indicated that Moscow might respond asymmetrically to such actions. This follows a report from a Kyiv intelligence source last week that a Ukrainian drone targeted a long-range radar deep inside Russia, part of Russia’s early-warning system for detecting nuclear attacks.
