evidence: Several countries, including the UK, have said that weapons donated to Ukraine could be used, in self-defence, to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia. Those permissions do not extend, however, to the use of Western-supplied long-range missiles against targets deep in Russian territory, although that operational caveat is currently under review. In response, in May 2024 Russia accused NATO and the US of "provoking a new level of tension" and in September 2024 President Putin said the use of long range missiles against Russian targets was a ‘red line’ that would amount to direct NATO participation in the conflict.