US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend a meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 24, 2022. Press service of the Ukrainian President / Distribution via REUTERS
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- Russia warns the West about arms supplies to Ukraine
- The United States is adding fuel to the fire of the conflict in Ukraine – Ambassador
- The United States promises more security aid
- Blinken, Austin visit Kyiv
LONDON, April 25 (Reuters) – Russia has told the United States to stop sending more weapons to Ukraine, warning that large Western arms supplies would fuel the conflict and lead to more losses, Moscow’s ambassador to Washington said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 killed thousands, displaced millions more and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the United States, arguably the world’s two-largest nuclear powers.
The United States has ruled out sending its own or NATO forces to Ukraine, but Washington and its European allies are supplying Kyiv with weapons such as drones, heavy howitzer artillery, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-tank missiles.
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Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, said such arms supplies were aimed at weakening Russia, but that they were escalating the conflict in Ukraine while undermining efforts to reach some kind of peace agreement.
“What the Americans are doing is pouring oil on the flames,” Antonov told Russia 24 television. “I see only an attempt to raise the stakes, to worsen the situation, for more losses.
Antonov, who has been ambassador to Washington since 2017, said an official diplomatic note had been sent to Washington expressing Russia’s concern. No answer has been given, Antonov said.
“We stressed the unacceptability of this situation, when the United States is pouring weapons into Ukraine, and demanded an end to this practice,” Antonov said. The interview was repeated on Russian state television throughout Monday.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv on Sunday.
They told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of more than $ 322 million in new military funding for Ukraine, with total US security aid after the invasion leading to about $ 3.7 billion, a US official said. Read more
US President Joe Biden pledged $ 800 million for more weapons to Ukraine on Thursday and said he would ask Congress for more money to help support the Ukrainian military.
President Vladimir Putin said a “special military operation” in Ukraine was necessary because the United States used Ukraine to threaten Russia and Moscow had to defend itself against the persecution of Russian-speakers.
Putin, who says Ukraine and Russia are essentially one people, describes the war as an inevitable confrontation with the United States, which he accuses of threatening Russia by interfering in its backyard and expanding NATO’s military alliance.
Ukraine says it is fighting an imperial-style seizure of land and that Putin’s allegations of genocide are nonsense. Zelensky begs the leaders of the United States and Europe to supply Kyiv with heavier weapons and equipment.
Putin warned in February that there would be no winners in the NATO-Russia conflict, which has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear warheads.
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Writing by Guy Falkonbridge; Edited by Frank Jack Daniel
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