Putin warns West: Russia will hit Ukraine harder if new missiles supplied

Russian President Vladimir Putin issues warnings to western countries for providing new and advanced weaponry to Ukrainian troops to. He threatened to strike back harder if new weaponry was provided

President Vladimir Putin warned the West that Russia would strike new targets if the United States started supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles, the TASS news agency reported on Sunday.
 

If such missiles are supplied, "we will strike at those targets which we have not yet been hitting," Putin was quoted as saying in an excerpt of an interview with Rossiya-1 state television channel.
 

Putin did not name the targets Russia planned to pursue if Western countries began supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles. He said the "fuss" around Western weapon supplies to Ukraine was designed to drag out the conflict.
 

Ukraine has been seeking Multiple Rocket Launch Systems (MLRS) such as the M270 and M142 HIMARS to strike troops and weapons stockpiles at the Russian forces' rear.
 

U.S. President Joe Biden announced plans this week to give Ukraine precision HIMARS rocket systems after receiving assurances from Kyiv that it would not use them to hit targets inside Russia.
 

Although Russian officials have warned that the U.S.decision to supply Ukraine with advanced rocket systems could exacerbate the conflict, Putin said it would not bring on any fundamental changes on the battlefield.
 

"We understand that this supply (of advance rocket systems) from the United States and some other countries is meant to make up for the losses of this military equipment," Putin said.
 

"This is nothing new. It doesn't change anything in essence."
 

In an excerpt of the same interview aired on Saturday, Putin boasted that Russian anti-aircraft forces have shot down dozens of Ukrainian weapons and are "cracking them like nuts."

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

France talking to UAE about replacing Russian oil

France is talking to the United Arab Emirates about the supply of oil and diesel as it seeks alternatives to Russian energy sources, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. 

The minister said France also planned to accelerate investment in the transition to cleaner energy, such as speeding up the roll-out of offshore wind farms, to increase the country’s independence. “We are looking for substitutes to the supply of gas or diesel from Russia,” Le Maire said.

US to let European firms ship Venezuela oil to Europe

Italian oil firm Eni SpA and Spain's Repsol SA could begin shipping Venezuelan oil to Europe as soon as next month to make up for Russian crude, five people familiar with the matter said, resuming oil-for-debt swaps halted two years ago when Washington stepped up sanctions on Venezuela.

The volume of oil Eni and Repsol are expected to receive is not large. But Washington's greenlight to resume Venezuela's long-frozen oil flows to Europe could provide a symbolic boost for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.