Russia to West: 'I don't advise you to test our patience further'

Russian officials on Thursday warned the West that there would be a tough military response to any further attacks on Russian soil – accusing the United States and its European allies of openly pushing Ukraine to assault Russia.

Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, “In the West, they are openly calling on Kyiv to attack Russia including with the use of weapons received from NATO countries.”

"I don't advise you to test our patience further,” she added.

Previously, Russian officials have said that Western attempts to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine dangerously undermines European security.

"In itself, the tendency to pump weapons, including heavy weapons, to Ukraine and other countries are actions that threaten the security of the continent and provoke instability," Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Similarly, Russia’s Intelligence Service Chief Sergei Naryshkin accused the United States and Poland of attempting to gain a sphere of influence over Ukraine – a signal which Guy Faulconbridge at Reuters believes is “the strongest signal from Moscow that the war could end with forced partition of Ukraine between the West and Russia.”

Russian defense officials also warned on Tuesday that if attacks on Russian territory continued, Moscow would begin targeting decision-making centers in Ukraine – including those where it believes Western advisors are presently working.

"Kyiv and West capitals should take the statement from the Ministry of Defence seriously that further inciting of Ukraine to strike Russian territory will definitely lead to a tough response from Russia," Zakharova said.

Zakharova also blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a puppet of the West who is being used by the West to threaten Russian interests.

"You are being used," Zakharova said.

Although the U.S. and NATO have both said they will not send troops to Ukraine, Washington and its European allies have so far supplied weapons, drones, Howitzer heavy artillery, anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles to Kyiv. So far, the U.S. has sent upwards of $3.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine.