Putin accuses West of provoking ‘global escalation’ in Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the conflict in Ukraine has escalated to a global scale due to recent attacks on Russian territory using long-range Western missiles. Speaking about the situation, he reiterated Russia’s readiness to respond “aggressively and symmetrically” if hostilities intensify further.

Putin accused the West of provoking the conflict and emphasized that any escalation of aggression would elicit a strong response from Moscow. He issued a warning to nations considering deploying military forces against Russia, urging their leadership to reflect on the consequences.

The remarks follow reports that Ukraine used US-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles on November 19 to strike deep within Russian territory, marking the first known use of such weapons against Russia. This came after the Biden administration lifted restrictions preventing Ukraine from using US weaponry for strikes within Russia.