BREST, November 22. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky was shook up by Moscow's response to the West's permission to attack deep into Russian territory with long-range weapons and admonished his masters for putting him in such a position, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"As for the reaction to our response (the use of Russia's latest Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile - TASS), I understand that Zelensky got scared and started to directly blame his masters for leaving him defenseless against Russia’s decisive action," Lavrov said at a press conference following a regular joint meeting of the Russian and Belarusian foreign ministries’ boards.

"This is probably a useful outcome," the top diplomat pointed out. "Because being closer to reality, feeling it firsthand, that’s helpful."

According to Lavrov, the West is directly involved in the use of long-range weapons against Russia, as not a single missile could be launched without its involvement. "It’s difficult to speculate on the reasoning of those who claim they granted Zelensky permission to use these weapons. The truth is, they permitted themselves to act against Russia. This is clear to everyone," he said. "The Russian president has repeatedly said this. Not a single one of these missiles would have flown anywhere without their (the West’s - TASS) direct involvement."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that the United States and its NATO allies had announced their approval of the use of long-range precision weapons. Following this announcement, Russian military sites in the Kursk and Bryansk regions were attacked with American and British missiles. In response, Russia used its newest intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Oreshnik, in a non-nuclear strike targeting Ukraine’s Yuzhmash defense plant in Dnepr (formerly known as Dnepropetrovsk). Putin emphasized that the West’s provocative policies could lead to severe consequences if the conflict continues to escalate.