Russia hopes for the triumph of common sense and the US refusal to supply Kyiv with long-range missile weapons. This was stated on May 28 by Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov, answering a question from the media.
“We hope common sense will prevail and Washington will not take such a provocative step,” Antonov was quoted as saying on the embassy’s Telegram channel.
According to him, the unprecedented pumping of Ukraine with weapons increases the risks of an escalation of the conflict.
At the same time, Antonov added that the Russian side “proceeds from the statement” by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby regarding the absence of a final decision on this issue.
Earlier, on May 27, anonymous sources in the US presidential administration told The New York Times that the White House had decided to replenish the new package of military assistance to Ukraine with long-range multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
As suggested by the interlocutors of the publication, we are talking about deliveries to Kyiv in the coming days of installations with satellite guidance M31 GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System), as well as MLRS HIMARS.
At the same time, Washington allegedly ignored Kyiv’s desire to provide such weapons for several weeks due to fears that the Ukrainian side could use these weapons to shell directly the territory of Russia.
The editor-in-chief of the American weekly The Nation, Katrina Vanden Heuvel, in an article for the German edition of Telepolis, expressed fears that the continuous supply of American weapons to Kyiv provokes the risk of a nuclear catastrophe. The world community is not opposed to this and is not in favor of finding a compromise and diplomatic solution, she added.
On May 26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow was warning Western countries that the supply of weapons to Ukraine capable of delivering strikes on Russian territory would be a step towards an unacceptable escalation. He also called attempts to make NATO a global alliance with a claim to military dominance throughout the world in a dangerous way, doomed to failure.
Meanwhile, a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, a member of the committee on national security and defense, Sergei Rakhmanin, said live on the Ukraine 24 TV channel that Kyiv does not have enough time “to accumulate a sufficient amount of weapons (from the West. – Ed.) and learn them.” The volume of arms supplies to the Ukrainian army does not compensate for the loss of weapons and military equipment, he said.
On May 24, US Congressman Seth Moulton expressed the opinion that the conflict in Ukraine is a proxy war between Western countries and Russia.
Western countries began to arm Ukraine against the backdrop of a Russian special operation to protect civilians in Donbass, which began on February 24. Moscow explained that the tasks of the special operation include the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, the implementation of which is necessary to ensure the security of Russia. The decision was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.