Western long-range weapons were used against Russia – Putin

Such weapons can’t affect the course of the military operation, the president noted

Kiev has launched a long-range missile strike against military facilities located within internationally-recognized Russian territory, President Vladimir Putin said in a public address on Thursday. The Ukrainian military fired British-made Storm Shadow missiles and US-made HIMARS at targets located in Bryansk and Kursk Regions, he said. 

The use of such Western-made systems in the Ukraine conflict has drastically changed its nature, he warned. “A regional Ukraine conflict instigated by the West has acquire elements of a global one,” Putin stated.

Long-range Western high-precision missile systems cannot be used without direct involvement of the Western military specialists, the president maintained. 

Russia’s air defense systems have successfully repelled all the attacks employing the Western long-range missile systems, according to Putin. “The goals that have apparently been set by the enemy have not been achieved,” he said.

The attacks resulted in no casualties and no major damage, the president added.