Russia Warns US against Supplying Ukraine with Advanced Weapons

Russian Foreign Ministry affirmed that any arms shipments to Ukraine increase the risks of direct confrontation between Moscow and Washington.

The statement came after U.S. President Joe Biden announced earlier that the U.S. is sending advanced rocket systems to Ukraine to strike “key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”

An official identified the weapon as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), pointing out that its range of 80 kilometres will keep them from being used to hit targets inside Moscow.

On his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that they are not planning to attack Russia.

“Look, we’re not planning to attack Russia, we’re not interested in the Russian Federation, we’re not fighting on their territory,” he told the conservative U.S. broadcaster Newsmax in an interview.

Biden emphasized that he will not pressure Ukraine in private or in public to make any territorial concessions.

“We will not pressure the Ukrainian government in private or in public to make any territorial concessions,” Biden wrote, according to his opinion article in the New York Times published on Tuesday.

“America’s goal is straightforward: We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression,” Biden noted. “We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia.”

While the United States does not want to “prolong the war,” it considers it vital that Russia “pay a heavy price for its actions” or it will “send a message to other would-be aggressors that they can take a territory by force,” he added.