Russia has formally complained to the United States over its military aid to Ukraine, warning of "unpredictable consequences" if shipments of advanced weaponry go forward, US media reported.
In a diplomatic note this week, Moscow warned the United States and NATO against sending the "most sensitive" weapons for Kyiv to use in the conflict with Russia, saying such shipments were "adding fuel" to the situation and could come with "unpredictable consequences," the Washington Post reported.
The warning came the same week that US President Joe Biden pledged a new $800 million military aid package for Ukraine, including helicopters, howitzers and armored personnel carriers.
"What the Russians are telling us privately is precisely what we've been telling the world publicly -- that the massive amount of assistance that we've been providing our Ukrainian partners is proving extraordinarily effective," the Post quoted a senior administration official -- who spoke on condition of anonymity about the note -- as saying.
The note was sent on Tuesday, just as word of a new US military aid package for Ukraine had started to leak out. Only hours later President Biden approved the shipment of $800m of military assistance - including, for the first time, long range artillery weapons such as howitzers – with the aim of matching Russia’s military capability in Ukraine.
In Moscow, a foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed Russia had sent diplomatic notes to the US and other nations about supplying weapons to Ukraine but did not say what the messages contained, the Interfax news agency reported.
President Joe Biden’s administration has announced the United States’ latest military aid package to Ukraine – an $800m bundle that includes additional helicopters and, for the first time, 155mm howitzer cannons.
The latest addition brings the overall US military assistance provided to Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbouring country on February 24 to $2.6bn. It comes as Russian forces have retreated from northern Ukraine amid a shift in strategy to focus on the eastern Donbas region.
