Sending weapons to Ukraine is ‘pouring oil on the flames’, Kremlin warns US

Mounting weapons deliveries to Ukraine are “pouring oil on the flames” and risk “more losses” on the battlefield, Russia has warned the US.

“We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the United States of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice,” Anatoly Antonov, Moscow’s ambassador to the US, said in an interview on Russian state TV.

“What the Americans are doing is pouring oil on the flames… I see only an attempt to raise the stakes, to aggravate the situation, to see more losses.”

Mr Antonov said an official diplomatic note had been sent to Washington expressing Russia’s concerns, but no reply had been received.

It comes hours after Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, where he announced more than $322 million (£252m) in new military financing for Ukraine. This takes the total US security assistance to Ukraine since the start of the invasion to around $3.7 billion (£2.9bn).

Unveiling the package, which includes foreign military financing and cash for Soviet-era weapons, the US said it “wants to see Russia weakened”, adding: “We can win, they can win if they have the right equipment.”