• Russia warns West against supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons.
• Washington and London have defied Putin’s warnings.
• Would send missile systems to Ukraine-Washington, London.

Russia warned on Monday that if the West supplies Ukraine with long-range weapons, it will intensify attempts to push Kyiv’s military closer to the country’s border.

“The more long-range weapons you supply, the further we will push away from our territory” the line of Ukrainian forces, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Moscow would hit new targets if the West supplies Ukraine with long-range missiles.

Read more: Sri Lanka moves to release court-ordered Russian plane

Washington and London have defied Putin’s warnings against supplying Kyiv with advanced weapons, saying they would send long-range missile systems to Ukraine.

The US last week announced it would give Kyiv its high mobility artillery rocket system, known as HIMARS, which can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles and is superior in range and precision to existing systems Ukraine has.

Britain announced on Monday that it will follow the lead of the United States and provide long-range missile systems to Ukraine as well.

Read more: Russian military re-grouping in the Black Sea