Russia slams US plans to supply Kyiv with modern rocket systems

Moscow, Jun 1 (EFE).- Russia has criticized the United States’ decision to supply Ukraine with a new weapons package that reportedly includes long-range rocket systems, saying it increased the likelihood of a direct confrontation between Moscow and Washington.

“All arms supplies, which are continuing and increasing, heighten the chance of such a development,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Riabkov told the RIA Novosti news agency Wednesday.

The deputy minister was responding to a new $700-million bundle of military aid drawn up by Washington, which according to US government sources includes the provision of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), a GPS-guided missile system that would allow the Ukraine army to increase its striking distance.

“We view this extremely negatively, because attempts to present the decision as containing elements of ‘self-restraint’ are useless,” he said, adding that the US was “pumping” weaponry into the Kyiv “regime.”

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