Putin Ally Accuses NATO of Leading Ukrainian Military in Russia

An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of being party to military action in Ukraine.

Earlier today, the chairman of Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, made the comments on Telegram, and suggested that NATO is heavily involved in the military decision-making of Ukraine.

His comments come a day after Putin warned that the West would be in direct conflict with Russia if it were to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-manufactured long-range missiles. Putin said that this would alter the nature of the conflict, as per Reuters.

Newsweek reached out to Volodin via the Russia State Duma for comment.

In a post on his official Telegram channel, Volodin – who didn't make reference to documentary evidence to back up his claims – accused NATO of helping Ukraine choose which Russian cities to target, of giving Kyiv orders and of agreeing on specific military action.

Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian defense ministry for comment.

"The United States, Germany, England and France are discussing the possibility of long-range strikes on the territory of our country," Volodin wrote. "This is nothing more than an attempt to camouflage and hide their direct participation in hostilities. In fact, the United States and its allies are in fact trying to allow themselves to carry out acts of aggression with missiles against Russia."

His post continued: "In parallel, the Pentagon is analyzing what consequences are expected in the event of a nuclear explosion. All this is direct evidence that NATO is actually fighting under the guise of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

Newsweek has reached out to NATO via its website for comment,

"Previously, these were advisers and instructors, now they are mercenaries and entire units using NATO weapons. They determine which cities of our country will be attacked, coordinate military actions and give orders. NATO has become a participant in the hostilities in Ukraine."

Volodin finished his post with the statement: "They are at war with our country."

Earlier this week, the Kremlin said that the West has probably already decided to allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes in Russian territory. Moscow would have an "appropriate" response if this were to happen, it said.

Ukraine has continually pressed the U.S. and the U.K. to drop their restrictions on long-range weapons being used for strikes inside Russia, over concerns that this would escalate the conflict.

While President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use these missiles to strike targets in Russia, but the distance which they can be fired is limited by the U.S.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy met with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. They discussed the Russia-Ukraine war, and Zelensky mentioned to restrictions on U.S.-provided weapons.

Zelensky has called on the U.S. to lift these restrictions, saying: "Let's count on some strong decisions, at least... for us it's very important."

Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.