The Kremlin's threats to NATO countries over Ukraine potentially using Western missiles to hit military targets in russia are likely to take the form of increased sabotage, cyberattacks and other hybrid attacks. This was stated by U.S. and European officials, reports UNN citing Bloomberg.
The publication notes that Russia could also retaliate by directly or indirectly targeting U.S. forces in other regions, such as the Middle East, another person said.
The United States and Britain are discussing the possibility of allowing Ukraine to deploy British cruise missiles backed by US navigation data for long-range strikes against russian territory after months of requests from Kiev. A final decision has not yet been made.
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will discuss the issue, as well as Kiev's long-term strategy and support, when they meet Friday, another official said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that any such move would make NATO countries direct parties to the conflict. As “the very essence of the conflict” changes, russia “will make appropriate decisions” based on the new threats, he said in St. Petersburg, without going into details about how it might respond.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk dismissed Putin's threats as “an attempt to dissuade the West from providing such aid.” It would be unwise “to draw any more dramatic conclusions” from them, Tusk said at a news conference on Friday.
Any long-range strikes, if approved, would be used only against a limited number of military targets, one official said. He said Muscovy would also use the topic in its propaganda efforts in Africa and Latin America.
Russian intelligence has targeted several European countries with sabotage attacks, often hiring local criminals. Its cyber and disinformation operations have long focused on the United States and Europe, Bloomberg writes.
Incidents attributed to Russia have escalated in recent months and include arson, jamming of GPS satellite signals and an assassination attempt on the CEO of a German arms company.
However, Western intelligence officials said that Moscow could retaliate on a larger scale: russia has deepened its cooperation with Iran, whose proxies in the Middle East have previously attacked U.S. facilities throughout the region. Russia recently received a shipment of ballistic missiles from Tehran. Iran denies supplying the weapons.
Some NATO allies are unhappy at the prospect of Ukraine using Western missiles on Russian territory, people familiar with the matter say. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto earlier criticized Ukraine's incursion into russia, saying it would push the cease-fire “further and further away,” the publication adds.