Russia says it would respond militarily if Ukraine allowed to launch attacks

By Dmitri Chirciu

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian deputy foreign minister said Saturday that Moscow would respond militarily if Ukraine is allowed to attack Russian territory with Western missiles.

“Therefore, we will respond appropriately. There is a serious risk here. Washington, London, and other adversaries underestimate the level of danger of the game they have started. Let them take steps in that direction first, and they will receive a comprehensive military response,” Sergey Ryabkov told journalists at a BRICS Media Summit in Moscow.

Evaluating the possibility of the West allowing Ukraine to attack Russia with long-range weapons, Ryabkov indicated that a decision had been made some time ago and signals on the issue had been conveyed to Kiev.

Ryabkov, who claimed that the US and the UK are trying to escalate tension in Ukraine to an uncontrollable level, noted that Russia had sent signals to the US through embassy-level contacts to abandon that approach, but the signals had not been effective.

- Russia may ban uranium exports to US

Ryabkov, who said the US is pursuing an aggressive policy against Russia, suggested that Russia might impose a ban on uranium exports to the US in response to sanctions imposed on his country.

He pointed out that the US is trying to prevent military-technical cooperation between Russia and Iran.

"The US wants to disrupt relations between Russia and Iran and to play according to its own interests on someone else's field, but they will not be successful in this. The US cannot meddle in the affairs of others. They should deal with their own issues. There are many problems within their own borders in North America,” he added.