Vladimir Putin has given an ultimatum to Western countries – either retreat or prepare for war, mk.ru comments on the latest statements of the Russian president.
In St. Petersburg, Putin stated in an even and calm tone that NATO countries would practically go to war against Russia if they gave Ukraine permission to attack targets deep in Russian territory with long-range missiles, the publication commented.
Nothing in the Russian president's calm tone suggested that the world - or at least the West and Russia - had come close to the brink of direct military confrontation. But that's exactly what the Russian president said in his statement.
Did that sound like a bolt from the blue? No, given the direction of the news flow in recent days. An absolute hit in the Western media and in the statements of Western politicians in the second week of September was the speculation on the topic that official Kiev is about to receive permission to strike with Western long-range weapons deep into Russian territory.
Biden is hesitant, such a decision has not yet been made final. The official reaction of the Moscow authorities in the evening was very restrained - in a sense even melancholic. Dmitry Peskov even said that perhaps the decision has already been made. But it was clear that all the “melancholy“ of the Kremlin is just for show.
Pay attention to the words chosen by the President of the Russian Federation – chosen quite deliberately - “direct participation of NATO in the war in Ukraine”. This is not yet a wording of "war between Russia and NATO". But the differences are purely semantic: we are talking about the same thing.
The Kremlin is sending the strongest possible signal (for those who can hear): we – in the sense of NATO and Russia – we have approached the point of no return. No need to go past this point.
And Putin is not bluffing, writes mk.ru. Any authorization by Kiev to use Western missiles to attack Russia could have dramatic consequences and must be carefully calibrated. Western countries understand how important such a decision is. The author Mikhail Rostovsky even points out that the lives of millions of people are already at risk.