The foreign ministers of NATO member nations are meeting in Prague amid growing calls to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike within Russian borders. Germany joined France this week in saying Ukraine should be able to target military sites in Russia which were used to launch missiles at Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed the issue during a visit to Moldova Wednesday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “We haven’t encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine. But Ukraine, as I’ve said before, has to make its own decisions about the best way to effectively defend itself. We’re going to make sure that it has the equipment it needs to do that.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned European nations were “playing with fire” and that there could be “serious consequences” if Ukraine uses NATO member weapons inside Russia.

President Vladimir Putin: “This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences. If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the United States behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons? Hard to say. Do they want global conflict?”