Zakharova said Putin had already spoken out on the topic of Ukraine strikes on Russian Federation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously spoken out about strikes on Russian territory with US long-range weapons. This was stated by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Sunday, November 17.

"The president has spoken out on this issue," she said in comments to RBC.

He said that such a thing would mean that NATO countries are "at war with Russia," Zakharova recalled.

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Earlier in the day, The New York Times learned of US President Joe Biden' s authorization for Ukraine to use US long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. Later it became known that France and the UK supported this decision.

Before that, on November 15, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said that the USA intended to supply Ukraine with all the weapons promised by the American leader before he left his post as head of state. She pointed out that some equipment and systems will reach Ukraine very quickly, within days and weeks. Some will take longer and could take months.

On the same day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said that the Biden administration intends to deliver the full amount of promised aid to Ukraine before the end of his presidential term.

On November 12, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that the USA has $9.3bn in agreed aid to Ukraine. Ryder said he will continue to do everything he can to make sure Ukraine has everything it needs.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to conduct it was made by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.