Russia warns US against sending more weapons to Ukraine

MOSCOW

Russia has told the US to stop giving more weapons to Ukraine, warning that its actions could intensify the conflict, Moscow’s envoy to Washington said on Monday.

The US sending arms worth $800 million to Kyiv “does not contribute to the search for a diplomatic solution or settlement,” Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with state-run Rossiya 24 news channel.

Antonov accused Washington of “trying to raise the stakes, to aggravate the situation.”

“Have we sent a (diplomatic) note? Yes, we stressed the unacceptability of a situation where the US is pumping Ukraine with weapons. We demanded an end to this practice,” he added.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the US had provided Ukraine military assistance worth over $2.6 billion.

Washington initially refrained from sending heavy weapons but has since changed tack and supplied equipment including helicopters, aerial and marine drones and artillery weapons.

The US military is also training Ukrainian soldiers.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged more aid during their trip to Kyiv on Sunday evening, telling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Washington plans to provide “$713 million in additional foreign military financing,” according to a CNN report that cited a senior US State Department official.

Zelenskyy welcomed the announcement, praising the US for its “unprecedented assistance” that has strengthened Ukraine’s defense capabilities and raised them “to a qualitatively new level,” his office said in a statement.

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a second $800 million military aid package for Ukraine in as many weeks, which includes dozens of Howitzer artillery weapons and tactical drones to complement the thousands of anti-armor and anti-air munitions already sent to bolster Ukraine.

The US has sent 10 anti-tank weapons for every Russian tank currently in Ukraine, Biden said after meeting Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, asserting that Washington will continue to share "significant, timely" intelligence with Kyiv.