The upcoming delivery of new US weapons to Ukraine, including multiple rocket launchers, “increases the risk” of a military confrontation between the United States and Russia, Moscow warned on Wednesday.
“Any arms delivery that continues, that increases, increases the risk of such a development,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told RIA Novosti, when asked about the possibility. of an armed confrontation between Washington and Moscow after the announcement of new arms deliveries to Kyiv.
On Tuesday, the United States indicated that it would provide Ukraine with HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), that is to say multiple rocket launchers mounted on light armor.
These devices have a range of approximately 80 km. These are therefore not very long-range systems, of several hundred kilometres, but they nevertheless represent a significant reinforcement of Ukrainian capabilities.
This equipment is part of a new broader component of US military assistance to Ukraine, totaling $700 million, details of which are to be given on Wednesday.
Since the start of the conflict, which entered its 100th day on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden has been concerned not to supply weapons which he believes would place the United States in a situation of co-belligerence alongside the Ukrainians.
Mr. Ryabkov mocked the United States saying it was determined to “wage the war to the last Ukrainian in order to inflict, as they say, a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia”.
“This is unprecedented and dangerous,” said the diplomat.
