Moscow sees risk of Russia-US conflict in new arms deliveries to Ukraine

Moscow sees risk of Russia-US conflict in new arms deliveries to Ukraine

The planned delivery of new US weapons to Ukraine, including advanced missile systems, increases the risk of drawing the United States into direct conflict with Russia, Moscow said on Wednesday.

This Maxar satellite image taken and released on March 22, 2022 shows burning and destroyed high-rise apartment buildings in Mariupol, Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainians sought to escape the hellish siege of Mariupol on March 22, as Russia pounded the city
AFP PHOTO / SATELLITE IMAGE ©2022 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES

"Any arms supplies that continue, are on the rise, increase the risks of such a development," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA Novosti news agency, in answer to a question about the possibility of a confrontation between Moscow and Washington. 

On Tuesday, Washington said it will be supplying Ukraine with advanced missile systems, including the Himars multiple-launch rocket system that can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles.

READ: Biden says US to send Ukraine 'advanced rocket systems' to hit 'key targets'

Both Ukraine and Russia already operate multiple-launch rockets systems, but the Himars has superior range and precision.

The Himars system that Washington is providing to Ukraine will have a range of about 80 kilometres (50 miles). 

According to Ryabkov, the US is determined to "wage war (on Moscow) to the last Ukrainian in order to inflict, as they say, a strategic defeat on Russia". 

"This is unprecedented, this is dangerous," Ryabkov said. 

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