Russia starts Kursk counter-attack and warns West about Ukraine using long-range missiles

This would 'change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict,' Russian President Vladimir Putin says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said Russia had begun a counter-offensive in its Kursk region to try to repel Kyiv's incursion, but the Pentagon said Moscow's attack so far was limited.

And Russian President Vladimir Putin warned western powers that he would consider them to be directly fighting against Russia if they loosen restrictions on Ukraine using long-range weapons in the war.

Mr Zelenskyy said Russia was taking “counter-offensive actions” in the Kursk regions, and that Ukrainian forces had anticipated the moves and were ready to fight.

Pentagon spokesman Maj Gen Pat Ryder downplayed the effectiveness of Russia's operations to repel Ukraine from the territory they entered on August 6.

“What we have seen is Russian units beginning to try to conduct some type of counter-offensive in the Kursk region. At this stage, I would say that it's marginal, but something obviously that we're keeping an eye on,” Maj Gen Ryder told reporters.

Ukraine launched its risky incursion into Kursk partly to try to force Russia to divert its troops there from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where a push by the Russian army is threatening to overrun key defensive strongholds. Russia is being aided in its efforts by Iran, which has supplied about 400 short-range missiles.

Mr Zelenskyy has for months been asking to let Ukraine fire western missiles, including long-range US Atacms and British Storm Shadows, deep into Russian territory to limit Moscow's ability to launch attacks.

Mr Putin warned such a move would drag the countries supplying Kyiv with such missiles directly into the war, as satellite targeting data and the programming of the missiles' flight paths would have to be done by Nato personnel because Kyiv did not have the ability.

“So this is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of deciding whether or not Nato countries are directly involved in a military conflict,” Mr Putin told Russian state TV.

“If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct involvement of Nato countries, the US and European countries, in the war in Ukraine. This will be their direct participation and this, of course, will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.”

Speculation has increased that the US might loosen restrictions on the use of long-range missiles after Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week said Washington continues to adapt its policies as battlefield conditions change.

Maj Gen Ryder cooled down any expectations of an imminent policy shift.

“I would tell you there has been no change to our policy,” he said. “As this battlefield has evolved, our support to Ukraine has evolved. But again, as of right now, the policy has not changed.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to meet President Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, the White House said, where talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on Ukraine’s demands to use the missiles for deeper strikes into Russia.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy meet in Kyiv on Wednesday. AP