Vladimir Putin has threatened the West with global war if he allows Ukraine to fire at targets in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that NATO members in Europe are "playing with fire" when they propose to give permission to Ukraine to strike with Western weapons on Russian territory, writes Reuters.

It is noted that while Western countries try to decide what to do with the advance of Russian troops in Ukraine, Putin has increasingly spoken about the risk of a much larger conflict.

"Continuous escalation can have serious consequences. If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the United States behave, given our strategic weapons parity? It's hard to say if they want a global conflict?“ – the head of state said to reporters in Tashkent.

According to Putin, striking Russia with long-range Western weapons would draw Western countries into war. He also added that the possible sending of French troops to Ukraine would be a step towards a global conflict.

Speaking about NATO members in Europe, Putin said that small countries "must realize what they are playing with" because they have a small territory and a very dense population.

"This is a factor they should consider before talking about striking deep into Russian territory,” Putin said.

Permission to strike with Western weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation

Recently, discussions have been increasingly heard in the EU and NATO countries about the need to allow the Ukrainian armed forces to strike Russian territory with the help of Western weapons. The reason is Russia's regular attacks with guided aerial bombs against Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, as well as other settlements along the border.

The idea is supported by Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain and some other European countries.

At the same time, Germany and the USA are more cautious about this issue, and in Hungary such an idea was called "madness".

The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called the attacks on Russian territory acceptable from the point of view of international law, since Russian troops are attacking Ukraine from its own territory. He confirmed that this idea is increasingly supported by EU countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for Ukraine to be allowed to attack Russian territory, but clarified that this should only be against targets from which missiles are launched.