A close ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Western governments on Thursday that a nuclear war would ensue if they gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

A senior Russian lawmaker on Thursday said that Ukrainian strikes on Russia with Western missiles would lead to global war with the use of nuclear weapons and that Moscow's response would be tough with more powerful weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if the West backs Ukraine's use of long-range missiles, it risks escalating the war into direct conflict with NATO. He emphasized that Moscow would respond decisively if its territory is targeted,