MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. NATO countries that have approved strikes with their weapons on Russian territory should be aware that their equipment and specialists will be destroyed not only in Ukraine, but also at any point from where Russian territory is attacked, the Russian Security Council’s Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on his Telegram channel, noting that the participation of NATO specialists could be seen as a casus belli.
"All their military equipment and specialists fighting against us will be destroyed both on the territory of former Ukraine and on the territory of other countries, should strikes be carried out from there against Russian territory," Medvedev warned.
He added that Moscow proceeded from the fact that all long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine were already "directly operated by servicemen from NATO countries", which is tantamount to participation in the war against Russia and a reason to start combat operations.
Therefore, said Medvedev, NATO would need to legally qualify the destruction of its equipment, facilities and servicemen in case of "possible retaliatory strikes <...> in the context of articles 4 and 5 of the Washington Treaty".
Articles 4 and 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which created the alliance, list NATO countries’ actions in case any of them is threatened, as well as the rules of the bloc’s collective defense. According to these provisions, a threat to one NATO country is perceived as an attack on all members of the alliance. At the same time, the document does not specify what exactly NATO may regard as an attack or threat, so it establishes a consultation mechanism for deciding on a response.