American and NATO convoys rushing desperately needed weapons to Ukraine forces are now being called legitimate targets of war by a senior ...
American and NATO convoys rushing desperately needed weapons to Ukraine forces are now being called legitimate targets of war by a senior Russian official.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comment Saturday on state TV, according to Politico.
Russia “warned the U.S. that pumping weapons from a number of countries it orchestrates isn’t just a dangerous move, it’s an action that makes those convoys legitimate targets,” he said.
He also called the U.S. sanctions against Russia an “unprecedented attempt to deal a serious blow to various sectors of the Russian economy,” but said Moscow is being restrained in its approach.
”We aren’t going to escalate the situation,” he said, referring to the possible expulsion of American and other Western businesses.
The world has seen an arms shipment become the catalyst for wider escalation of a conflict. In 1915 the Lusitania, which was carrying ammunition and guns for the forces opposing Germany, was sunk by a German U-boat. The sinking became a catalyst for shifting America into an alliance with Britain and France, which culminated in the arrival of U.S. forces in France in 1917.
Russia’s threat comes at a time when some lawmakers want Ukraine to have jets that can push back against Russian dominance of the skies.
“Enough talk. People are dying. Send them the planes that they need,” Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said Thursday after a proposed deal collapsed in which the U.S. was the middleman for getting Polish fighters to Ukraine, according to ABC.
There’s little doubt more arms will be flowing to Ukraine, even though some Democrats oppose it.
The Biden administration and NATO nations are planning to step up shipments of sophisticated air-defense systems and other weapons, U.S. officials said Friday, according to The Washington Post.
Slovakia could send the S-300 surface-to-air missile system, which is not a stranger to Ukrainian forces.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. will give Ukraine “the kinds of capabilities that we know the Ukrainians need and are using very well.”
He did not offer details.
The exact shape of future aid remains uncertain, but political statements indicate many lawmakers have already dug in to oppose Russia’s invasion.
“Vladimir Putin must pay for this unprovoked, naked war of aggression,” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has said, according to The New York Times. “If Joe Biden won’t make him pay, the Republican Party must.”
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