NATO’s involvement in Ukraine threatens an “unpredictable escalation” alerted Russia’s defense minister, on Tuesday.
Western arms supplies to Ukraine is effectively dragging NATO into the conflict.
“The United States and its allies are attempting to prolong the conflict as much as possible,” said Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during a conference call with military officials.
“To that end, they have begun supplying heavy lethal weapons. Openly urging Ukraine to seize our territories.
In fact, such actions draw NATO countries into the conflict, potentially leading to an unpredictable level of escalation.”
Russia purports to have annexed regions in eastern and southern Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, after referendums last September.
That, Kyiv and its Western allies condemned as illegitimate. Much of the territory claimed by Russia remains in Ukrainian hands.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the West and NATO of directly intervening in the Ukraine conflict by supplying arms to Kyiv, warning that NATO’s weapons are “legitimate targets” for its military forces.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, the US has sent Ukraine more than $20 billion in military aid.
And set to provide Kyiv with longer-range rockets as part of a new $2 billion weapons package announced last week.
Ukraine claims that the weapons, as well as other military supplies such as tanks, are urgently needed to fend off Russian attacks, as they prepare for a spring offensive against Moscow’s forces.
According to Ukrainian officials, Moscow is stockpiling weapons and reserves in preparation for a new offensive in the coming weeks.
For months, fighting has centered on the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk province, which Russia has been attempting to conquer.
Moscow has also launched an offensive even farther south against Vuhledar, a Ukrainian-held territory at the strategic crossroads of the eastern and southern front lines.
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