War in Ukraine: the worrying threats of Putin who wants to target new targets

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned this Sunday, June 5, that Moscow would strike new targets if the West supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine, judging that the current arms deliveries were aimed at “prolonging the conflict”.

If long-range missiles are delivered to Ukraine, “then we will draw the appropriate conclusions and use our weapons (…) to hit sites that we have not targeted so far”, Vladimir Putin said, according to excerpts from an interview to be published on Sunday evening on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

The master of the Kremlin did not define the range from which Moscow would react, nor specify which targets could be targeted.

Missile fire in Kyiv this Sunday morning

Early this Sunday, explosions shook Kyiv and air raid warnings sounded in several other localities in Ukraine. Moscow says it destroyed tanks delivered by Eastern European countries. “High-precision, long-range missiles fired by the Russian Aerospace Forces at the outskirts of Kyiv destroyed T-72 tanks supplied by Eastern European countries and other armored vehicles that were in hangars of a railway car repair company,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, several cruise missiles were fired in the direction of Kyiv by Russian TU-95 planes based in the Caspian Sea, one of which was destroyed.

“The aggressor continues to launch missiles and conduct airstrikes on the military and civilian infrastructure of our country, especially in Kyiv,” the Ukrainian army general staff wrote on its Facebook page.

Vladimir’s statements come days after the United States announced its decision to deliver Himars (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine with a range of about 80 km. Military experts point out that this range is slightly greater than that of similar Russian systems, which would allow Kyiv forces to strike enemy artillery from out of reach.

US President Joe Biden, however, said on Monday that he ruled out delivering long-range rocket launcher systems to Ukraine that could reach Russia, despite repeated requests from Kyiv for such weapons.

Relative calm had returned in recent weeks to the city of Kyiv, the Russians have given up their assault on the capital to concentrate on eastern Ukraine, including Severodonetsk, a key city, and an epicenter of fierce fighting for control of the Donbas.