Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO alliance leaders that a move to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of longer-range Western missiles to strike deep inside his country would be considered an act of war.

The Russian president said Western support for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia would put his country and NATO “at war.”

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, has stated that NATO's refusal to take Vladimir Putin's statements seriously regarding the supposed consequences of allowing Ukraine to attack Russian territory with long-range Western weapons is "provocative and dangerous".

Russia said on Tuesday it had repelled five new attempts by Ukrainian forces to smash through its border into the Kursk region, bringing the total number of reported attacks on the border to 26 in just the past six days.

President Joe Biden is considering a Ukrainian request to fire Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) — long-range, American-made weapons — across the Russian border, according to the New York Times. The surface-to-surface missiles, which were provided to Ukraine last year, have thus far been limited to targets inside Ukraine.

Ukrainian service personnel use a searchlight as they search for drones in the sky over the city during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 27, 2024. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's air force said on Thursday it had shot down all 42 drones and one of four missiles used by Russia during overnight attacks.

Ukraine would have a good military reason to strike deeper into Russia using Western weapons, a senior NATO military official said on Saturday.

More than 1 million people in Ukraine and Russia have been killed or injured in the war, according to The Wall Street Journal.