By Aaron Miller-
Russia has sent a formal note to the U.S, demanding that the Biden administration stop sending weapons to Ukraine, the Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Monday.
It is the second time Russia has called for the United States to seize its supply of weapons to Russia.
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In an interview on state-owned Russian-language TV channel Russia-24, Antonov criticized Washington’s latest $800 million arms package for Ukraine.
President Joe Biden announced the military aid on April 21, pledging to send heavy artillery, ammunition, as well as new Phoenix Ghost tactical drones developed by the U.S. Air Force, to Ukraine.
Antonov said the Kremlin in its formal note stressed the “unacceptability” of the U.S. supplying Ukraine with weaponry.
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“We demanded an end to this practice,” the diplomat said.He accused the United States of “trying to raise the stakes even more and aggravate the situation.”
The Washington Post reported that it had obtained a copy of a formal diplomatic note sent from Moscow to the U.S.
According to the post, the Kremlin in the note warned that U.S. and NATO shipments of the “most sensitive” weapons systems to Ukraine were “adding fuel” to the conflict.
Last week, Russia warned of repercussions if the U.S continued to send weapons to Ukraine. A spokesperson for the state department at the time did not confirm any diplomatic correspondence as a matter of course, and made clear that the US would continue to send arms to Ukraine.
Biden unveiled his arms package in an address from the White House’s Roosevelt Room last week.
“We’re in a critical window now of time where they’re going to set the stage for the next phase of this war,” the president said, referring to Russia’s declaration days earlier that its offensive in Ukraine had entered a new phase—controlling Ukraine’s east.
The United States and its allies are “moving as fast as possible” to provide Kyiv with additional weapons and equipment, Biden said.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that the new Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, manufactured by California-based AEVEX Aerospace, will help Ukraine “deliver a punch” to the Russian army.
The Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday that the U.S. will “continue to utilize all available tools to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces in the face of Russian aggression.”
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