Russia warns Europe to avoid ‘pumping Ukraine full of weapons' as US announces arms shipments

News24

7 hours ago

Russia is weighing its response to US weapons being sent to Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump announced that defensive weapons would be shipped to Ukraine.
The Kremlin argued that any weapons sent to Ukraine would prolong the war.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it would take time to clarify what weapons the US was supplying and would supply to Ukraine after US President Donald Trump said Washington would have to send more arms to Kyiv.
Trump said on Monday that the US would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help the war-torn country defend itself against intensifying Russian advances.
When asked about Trump's remarks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there were many contradictory statements about US weapons supplies to Ukraine, though it was clear that European weapons deliveries were continuing.
'Obviously, supplies are continuing, that's clear. Obviously, the Europeans are actively involved in pumping Ukraine full of weapons,' Peskov said.
'As for what kind of supplies and in what quantity Ukraine continues to receive from the United States, it will still take time to clarify this definitively,' he added.
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Russia, which is advancing at various points along the front, currently controls just under a fifth of Ukrainian territory including Crimea, all of Luhansk, the lion's share of three other regions and slivers of three additional regions.
Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images
Peskov said that Moscow appreciated Trump's efforts to initiate direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and that there was significant potential for restarting Russian-US trade and economic relations.
'But at the moment, the United States is implementing a number of restrictions. We believe that these sanctions are illegal, and they harm not only our entrepreneurs, but also the entrepreneurs of the United States,' Peskov said.
AFP reported that Peskov warned sending arms to Ukraine only served to prolong the conflict.
'It is obvious of course that these actions probably do not align with attempts to promote a peaceful resolution,' Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying in a briefing.
Peskov also criticised European countries for 'actively contributing to the continuation of hostilities' with their arms supplies to Ukraine.
Ukraine asked the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague on Tuesday to investigate the alleged use of banned toxic munitions by Russia against its forces, according to Reuters.
A request to establish an investigation was submitted by Kyiv to the governing body of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
It followed Dutch and German intelligence agencies on Friday saying they had evidence of widespread use of illegal weapons by Russia along the frontline.
The OPCW created a similar team in 2018 to examine accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria.
The Investigation and Identification Team found that Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants had used banned chemical weapons in the civil war that began in March 2011.