Russia has warned the United States against sending more weapons to Ukraine, saying the delivery of arms supplies is “pouring oil on the flames”.
The US has provided about $6.4bn in military assistance to Ukraine since 2014, with $3.7bn of that allotted in a series of packages announced in the wake of Russia’s invasion of its neighbouring country some two months ago.
In comments made on the Rossiya 24 TV channel, Anatoly Antonov, Moscow’s ambassador to the US, said the delivery of military equipment to Ukraine raised the stakes of the conflict, now in its 61st day.
Ukraine: UN chief meets Putin to discuss peace
UN rights chief says ‘horror story’ of abuses unfolding in Ukraine
We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the United States of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice,” Antonov said, referring to an official diplomatic note sent to Washington expressing Moscow’s concerns.
“What the Americans are doing is pouring oil on the flames,” Antonov added. “I see only an attempt to raise the stakes, to aggravate the situation, to see more losses.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, late on Sunday and met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the first visit by US officials since the war began on February 24.
They pledged new assistance worth $713m for Zelenskyy’s government and other countries in the region, and promised US envoys would return to Ukraine soon. On Monday, President Joe Biden nominated Bridget Brink, the current US ambassador to Slovakia, to be Washington’s envoy to Ukraine, stepping up diplomatic measures as well.
“In terms of Russia’s war aims, Russia has already failed and Ukraine has already succeeded,” Blinken told reporters in Poland after the two officials returned from Kyiv, which ran three hours instead of an allotted 90 minutes
Zelenskyy has been pleading with US and European leaders to supply Kyiv with heavier arms and equipment. (Aljazeera)
