Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has slammed an alleged decision by US President Joe Biden to approve the use of long-range weapons for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russian territory.
Several Western media outlets reported on the alleged change of policy on Sunday, with some claiming that the UK and France had followed suit. The French Foreign Ministry later clarified, however, that Paris is still considering its position.
Maduro commented on the development during his closing speech at the National Congress of Bolivarian Historic Bloc in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
“The governments of the USA, France and Great Britain – the Holy Alliance of Evil – have just approved for Nazi criminal [Vladimir] Zelensky to use long-range missiles to attack our sister Russia,” Maduro said.
“We are at a defining moment. North American imperialism has entered a phase of madness and revenge,” the Venezuelan president added.
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that outgoing US President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to strike Russia’s internationally recognized territory.
Citing anonymous American officials, the report stated Kiev is expected to deploy Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against Russian forces and alleged North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk Region, where fierce fighting is ongoing. The supposed presence of North Korean forces has been used as a justification for the policy change, although there is no verified proof of Pyongyang’s troops operating in Russia.
Later that day, the French daily Le Figaro reported that France and the UK had followed the US lead, and allowed strikes with their weapons deep inside Russia. The daily, however, later deleted its claim that the countries had authorized the use of SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles for such strikes.
Asked about the French government’s stance on Monday, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters that Paris is still considering whether to allow Ukraine to target Russian territory with French-supplied missiles. He recalled that President Emmanuel Macron had publicly stated in May that Paris was considering permitting the use of its missiles for such attacks.
Ukraine has already been using ATACMS and French-British SCALP-EG/Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets in Crimea and other four former Ukrainian regions that joined Russia after 2014. However, Zelensky had been pushing the West for permission to use the long-range missiles for striking targets within Russia’s internationally recognized territory.
Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has commented on the matter.
However, the Kremlin said on Monday that if the media reports are confirmed, this would indicate a dramatic escalation of the Ukraine conflict, and mean that “NATO nations are at war with Russia.”
President Vladimir Putin warned in September that the expansion of attacks deep inside Russia using Western weapons would “significantly change the nature of the conflict.” He argued that such strikes would be impossible without the participation of foreign personnel, and would mean that “NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict” with Russia, he said.