Putin warns West against direct involvement in Ukraine conflict

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that by providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, Western countries risk involving directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In such circumstances, Russia would be forced to make "appropriate decisions" based on the new threats, Putin was quoted by Russian media as saying.

Ukraine has been pleading with its Western allies for it to use their missiles, including long-range ones, to fire deep into Russian territory, according to Western media reports.

"In fact, only service people from NATO countries can make flight assignments to these missile systems. Ukrainian service people cannot do that," Putin told Russian state TV.

"So this is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to attack Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved in a military conflict or not."

"If this decision is taken, it will mean nothing else than direct participation of NATO countries -- the USA and European countries -- in the war in Ukraine," he said.

According to a report by Politico, the White House is finalizing a plan to ease restrictions on Ukraine's use of U.S.-donated weapons in battles against Russia, including the use of British long-range missiles that contain American parts to strike targets inside Russia.