By Tony O’Reilly-
Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia will retaliate if the US sends its next planned bout of aid to Ukraine.
The West has delivered multiple support packages to Ukraine since the unlawful invasion of Ukraine which has just exceeded 100 days .
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The latest aid package from the US contains ‘1,000 Javelins and rocket-launcher systems called HIMARS’, according to the Pentagon.
Biden’s administration has revealed the package totals $700 million.
Despite initially deciding against sending advanced missile systems to Ukraine, on 31 May, US president Joe Biden announced the rockets will now be delivered to the war-torn country.
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According to Russian news agency Tass, the Kremlin leader said: “If it now comes to rockets and they are supplied, we will draw conclusions from that and employ our weapons that we have in sufficient quantities to strike those facilities that we are not attacking so far.”
It follows allegations that the US of deliberately ‘stretching out the armed conflict as long as possible’ by creating such a ‘fuss over additional deliveries of armaments’. Putin’s comments follows from an op-ed piece written by Biden on the last day of May for The New York Times.
“As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said, ultimately this war ‘will only definitively end through diplomacy.’ Every negotiation reflects the facts on the ground. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.
“That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“[…] We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously called on the US to supply the country with more weapons, adding Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) to Ukraine’s wish list in recent weeks.
The long-range rocket systems far outreach any of the systems Ukraine is currently in possession of.
Russia said it will expand the list of targets it will attack in Ukraine if Western countries send long-range weapons to Kyiv.
The warning came as explosions shook parts of Kyiv on Sunday in the first air strikes on the capital for weeks.
The package also includes helicopters, anti-tank weapons, tactical vehicles and spare parts.
Germany also promised to send its most modern air defence system – the Iris-T – to enable Ukraine to shield an entire city from Russian air attacks
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