Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Russia is closely monitoring Western statements regarding strikes deep within its territory and warned the West and NATO countries that they need to understand "what they are playing with." This came during a press briefing following his visit to Uzbekistan amid discussions about allowing Kyiv to strike Russia. He said, "Representatives of NATO countries, especially in Europe, specifically in small European nations, must understand what they are engaging with. They need to take this into consideration before launching strikes deep into Russian territory."
He added, "They should remember that these are usually small countries with a high population density," according to the Russian news site Sputnik. Putin mentioned that he stated publicly six months ago that if they continued to strike residential areas, Russia would be forced to establish a security zone.
On the backdrop of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's remarks about attacks on Russia, Putin clarified that precision long-range weapons cannot be used without satellite intelligence. Stoltenberg stated Tuesday that "NATO" does not plan to send troops to Ukraine or participate in military operations in any way and confirmed that he sees the possibility of lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western weapons to launch attacks on Russian territory.
Putin remarked, "If Stoltenberg speaks about the possibility of striking Russian territory with precision long-range weapons, it’s like someone leading a military-political organization like NATO; despite being a civilian like me, he should still know that precision long-range weapons cannot be used without satellite reconnaissance."
Putin also pointed out that no one in the West talks about the bombing of Belgorod since they were the ones who did it and "are reaping the rewards of their creations." He stated, "Look at all your Western colleagues' reports, no one talks about the bombing of Belgorod and other neighboring areas; everyone is just saying that Russia has opened a new front and is attacking Kharkiv. Not one word, why is that? With their own hands, they 'reap the fruits of their creativity.'"
Furthermore, Putin confirmed that Russia is aware of the presence of Western mercenaries in Ukraine, and that military trainers are there under their guise. He said, "We are aware of the presence of Western mercenaries and military trainers in Ukraine, and they are incurring losses in Ukraine, making it increasingly difficult for the Westerners themselves to hide it."
