Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Medvedev announced strikes on decision-making centers in the event of an attack by Ukraine
Washington will supply Kiev with HIMARS MLRS, the range of which reaches 500 km. Thus, the APU has the opportunity to strike at the territory of Russia. If earlier it was claimed that the missile's flight radius would be reduced to 80 km, now the United States refuses to do this. Moscow has already warned Kiev about the consequences of a strike on Russia.
If Kiev uses American multiple launch rocket systems against Russian targets, then the Russian Armed Forces will act to "defeat decision-making centers," Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
He explained that this measure may concern the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. "But you need to understand that the final decision-making centers in this case, unfortunately, are not even on the territory of Kiev. Therefore, this is certainly a threat that will need to be taken into account," Medvedev added.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said earlier that the US authorities will not limit the range of operation of multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) HIMARS, which will be delivered to Ukraine in the near future.
She added that the provision of these weapons should "help Ukraine achieve greater accuracy in hitting hostile targets and provide it with artillery weapons with a longer range."
Earlier, the White House stressed that for the sake of safety, the range of missiles for MLRS will not exceed 80 km.
On June 1, US President Joe Biden officially confirmed Washington's plans to provide military assistance to Ukraine for $ 700 million. The United States will provide Ukrainian troops with HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (hypothetically, they can strike targets in Russia from the territory of Ukraine, with a range of 500 km), helicopters, tactical vehicles, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems.
The American authorities claim that the 11th package of military assistance is directed exclusively for defensive purposes within Ukraine, and Kiev has promised not to use MLRS for shelling Russian territories.
After that, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would not attack Russia with weapons from the United States.
"I know that people in the United States or someone in the White House say that we can use them [MLRS] to attack Russia. Look, we are not going to attack Russia. We are not interested in the Russian Federation, we are not fighting on its territory," he said in an interview with the American TV channel Newsmax.
But the Ukrainian authorities are not going to concede their territories either. "But there are certain difficulties and details with some territories. These difficulties can be discussed," Zelensky added. He also said that every day the Ukrainian army loses about 60-100 soldiers killed and about 500 wounded.
At the same time, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, does not believe Kiev's promises that MLRS will not be used against the territory of the Russian Federation. "No promises, words in the context, in particular Zelensky, can be discussed and it is useless," she said on the air of Solovyov Live.
The Kremlin earlier recalled that Kiev has exhausted its credibility, since the President of Ukraine has not fulfilled a single promise for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbass.
At the same time, against the background of Zelensky's statements, Verkhovna Rada deputy Egor Chernev admitted that the Ukrainian military could strike Russia with HIMARS missiles. He called Russian planes and military personnel on the territory of Russia "legitimate targets" for the AFU.
"We take on certain obligations, but no one can guarantee how the rocket will fly there. Kiev has its own weapons, such as howitzers, self-propelled guns, "Dots-U", which can hit such targets," Kommersant quotes him as saying.
Angelina Milchenko
