This week, Russian regime leader Vladimir Putin threatened that a decision allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons against Russian territory would lead to NATO entering a direct war with Russia. Over the weekend, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Joe Biden postponed making a decision on the matter.

Kristi Raik, deputy director of the International Center for Defense and Security, noted on the "Ukraina stuudio" talk show that Russian threats have influenced Western leaders several times, particularly those of the U.S. and Germany.

"Russia's so-called red lines have had the effect of Western countries limiting their support for Ukraine. And we still haven't received a decision from Washington on whether the restrictions on Ukraine's right to use long-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia will be lifted. This is the decision being awaited and it has drawn a lot of attention this week. I believe Russia is also preparing for this decision. But I can't explain otherwise why the U.S. still hasn't made this decision, except that they are still afraid of Russia's red lines," Raik commented.

Raik pointed out that Putin's argument about NATO's direct involvement is not new.

"Putin has talked about this repeatedly, and from the U.S. perspective, it has been a very important principle to avoid at all costs the expansion of this war into a conflict between NATO and Russia. So, Putin is still trying to bring up this argument, but it's really worn out by now. And in Russia, it's always been believed that they are fighting NATO in Ukraine," she explained.

According to Raik, the fact that Iran has provided or is providing ballistic missiles to Russia could give Western nations justification to say that Moscow has escalated the war itself, thereby giving Ukraine the right to use Western long-range missiles to strike military targets in Russia.

Raik noted that the decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles currently lies solely with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, and the U.K. government strongly supports Ukraine. She explained that at this week's Crimea Platform summit in Kyiv, the main focus was on pressuring Biden to lift the restriction.

"This decision was expected earlier in the week when U.S. and U.K. foreign ministers met with Ukraine's foreign minister, followed by a meeting between the U.K. prime minister and Biden. It seemed like the decision should come soon. But it still hasn't come. It's possible that it's still forthcoming. However, this delay does not give a good impression of U.S. decisiveness. It raises questions about what fears Biden's administration still harbors," Raik said.

Raik added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky likely expects Biden to make crucial decisions for Ukraine before leaving office.

"Europe is, in some ways, in a stalemate. Major European countries like Germany and France are currently unable to support Ukraine as much as expected due to domestic political reasons. But the expectations for the U.S. are higher," Raik concluded.

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