"
- Russia says the United States' decision
to ship more weapons to Ukraine poses an
"immediate threat" to Moscow's interests and
hikes the risk of a direct military
confrontation between Russia and the West.
Russia says the United
States' decision to ship more weapons to Ukraine
poses an "immediate threat" to Moscow's
interests and hikes the risk of a direct
military confrontation between Russia and the
West.
"The supply of
military products by the US and its allies not
only entails protracted bloodshed and new
casualties, but also increases the danger of a
direct military clash between Russia and Western
countries," Russia's Ambassador to the US
Anatoly Antonov said on the Telegram messaging
app on Wednesday.
"We perceive this
as an immediate threat to the strategic
interests of our country," he said, after US
President Joe Biden pledged a new $625-million
military aid package to Ukraine on Tuesday.
The US package
would include High Mobility Artillery Rocket
System (HIMARS) launchers, reportedly used in
Ukraine's recent counter-offensives against
Russian forces, leading to their withdrawal.
Last week,
Washington also unveiled a $1.1-billion arms
package for Ukraine, which included 18 HIMARS
launcher systems, accompanying munitions,
various types of counter drone systems and radar
systems.
But last week's
weapons package was funded by the Ukraine
Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), meaning
the government has to procure the weapons from
industry, rather than pulling them from existing
US weapons stocks.
The latest
announcement would mark more than $16.8 billion
worth of US security military aid to Kiev since
Russia began what it calls a "special military
operation" in Ukraine back in February, citing
the failure of the US-led NATO military alliance
and Kiev to offer Moscow security guarantees it
sought in connection with NATO's eastward
expansion.
The aid package
is the first since the accession to Russian
Federation of four former Ukrainian
territories — namely Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson,
and Zaporizhzhia — after holding referendums
that Russia said overwhelmingly favored the
move.
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in this article are
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