Russia has warned of “consequences” if the US decides to deliver a sophisticated air defence system to Ukraine, a threat that has been rejected by Washington as “ironic”.
The statement came from Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday amid speculation that the US could provide its Patriot missiles to Ukraine as the invasion of the country by Russia enters its 10th month.
The statement warned that the systems and any crews that accompany them would be a “legitimate target” for the Russian military.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the US had “effectively become a party” to the war by providing Ukraine with weapons and training its troops.
She added that if reports about US intentions to provide Kyiv with a Patriot surface-to-air missile system proves true, it would become “another provocative move by the US” and broaden its involvement in the hostilities, “entailing possible consequences”.
“Any weapons systems supplied to Ukraine, including the Patriot, along with the personnel servicing them, have been and will remain legitimate priority targets for the Russian armed forces,” Ms Zakharova declared.
Asked about the Russian warning, Pentagon spokesman air force general Pat Ryder responded that the US was “not going to allow comments from Russia to dictate the security assistance that we provide to Ukraine”.
“I find it ironic and very telling that officials from a country that brutally attacked its neighbor – in an illegal and unprovoked invasion, through a campaign that is deliberately targeting and killing innocent civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure – that they would choose to use words like ‘provocative’ to describe defensive systems that are meant to save lives and protect civilians,” Mr Ryder said.
US officials said earlier this week that the country was poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles that have crippled much of the country’s vital infrastructure.
However, an official announcement is yet to be made.
The threat from Russia comes as Moscow launched another attack on Friday in three Ukrainian cities with energy infrastructure as its target, according to officials in Kyiv.
Additional reporting by agencies
