Embassy: US Demonstrates Carelessness by Delivering Russian-made Helicopters to Ukraine

The Russian Embassy to the US asserted, on Wednesday, that Washington has been demonstrating a careless approach by supplying Ukraine with long-range artillery systems despite the risk of further escalation.

"The administration is demonstrating a careless approach regarding the transfer of long-range artillery systems to Ukraine. The escalation of the conflict is the main risk," the embassy said in a statement.

"If the Armed Forces of Ukraine use it to strike the territory of the Russian Federation. The consequences will be unpredictable," the embassy warned. "Washington keeps ignoring the evident risk of those weapons falling into the hands of radical nationalists, terrorists and armed groups not only in Ukraine but also beyond its borders."

Moreover, it indicated that such double standards undermine trust in Washington as a party to multilateral export control mechanisms.

In another statement, the embassy affirmed that the US government has violated its commitments in a flagrant way by supplying Ukraine with Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters earlier intended for Afghanistan.

"We noted that the yet another package of US military aid to Ukraine includes four Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters, earlier purchased by Washington for the Afghan government," the statement read.

"This is a flagrant violation of the commitments by the US side. Despite our numerous requests for explanations, the US failed to provide a coherent response."

"The US side admits the risk of MANPADS being acquired by third countries. It is of no coincidence that a Russia-US agreement on informing each other about foreign sales of MANPADS has been in place for many years," it concluded.

On his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Moscow will strike new targets if the West supplies long-range missiles to Ukraine.

If Kyiv is supplied with long-range missiles, “we will draw the appropriate conclusions and use our arms…. to strike targets we haven’t hit before,” Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. He also stressed that new arms deliveries to Kyiv were aimed at “prolonging the conflict”.