2024-09-19 16:45:31
The Kremlin today called “dangerous” comments by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said that if the West decided to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike Russia, it would not be a red line for Moscow. reported Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging his allies for months to allow Ukraine to fire Western missiles, including the US ATACMS and Britain’s Storm Shadow long-range missiles, at Russia to limit Moscow’s ability to carry out attacks.
Stoltenberg rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning last week that allowing Ukraine to use such weapons to strike deep into Russian territory would mean the West would be in a state of direct war with Russia. “There have been many red lines announced by him before, and he has not escalated, which would have meant directly involving NATO allies in the conflict,” said Stoltenberg, whose term as head of the military alliance ends in October.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Stoltenberg’s comments, which he made in an interview with The Times, were dangerous.
“This blatant disregard for the Russian president’s statements is absolutely short-sighted and unprofessional,” Peskov said, describing Stoltenberg’s position as “extremely provocative and dangerous.”
The Kremlin spokesman also said that Russian services did not report elevated levels of radiation in the atmosphere after Norway said it had detected elevated levels of radioactive cesium near its Arctic border with Russia.
A statement from Norway’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority said yesterday that “very low” levels of radioactive cesium were measured near the border with Russia. High levels of cesium were reported in the period from September 5 to 16, but did not pose a risk to people or the environment, the department added, BTA writes.
In response to a request for comment on the Norwegian authority’s statement, Peskov said that Russian services had not reported elevated levels of such isotopes in the atmosphere.