WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Russia has warned of a direct military confrontation with the U.S. over its support to Ukraine.
Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s envoy to Washington, warned that the current actions of Western nations could be leading to a direct military confrontation between Russia and the U.S.
“Western states are directly involved in the current events as they continue to pump Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, thereby inciting further bloodshed,” Antonov was quoted as saying by Newsweek magazine.
He said the support being received by Ukraine from the West was escalating the crisis and warned that the consequences of such policies could be severe.
“We warn that such actions are dangerous and provocative as they are directed against our state. They can lead the U.S. and the Russian Federation onto the path of direct military confrontation.
“Any supply of weapons and military equipment from the West, performed by transport convoys through the territory of Ukraine, is a legitimate military target for our Armed Forces.”
Antonov also warned that any supply of weapons and military equipment from the West was “a legitimate military target for our Armed Forces.”
The warning came in the wake of a raft of U.S. weapons and military equipment being dispatched to Ukraine to help embattled Ukrainian troops push back Russian forces.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in his remarks on CBS News on Sunday claimed that Ukrainian forces were pushing back Russian troops so successfully that they had been forced to regroup, refit, and refocus.
“Russia has changed its behavior in this war,” Sullivan said. “They have retreated. They have pulled back from substantial territory in northern and northeastern Ukraine.
Chiefly the reason they made those adjustments is because they were beaten by the Ukrainians.”
He said Washington was focused on helping Ukrainians defend against Russian advances in the breakaway Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
“Our job is to help ensure that the Ukrainians are in a position to resist that advance and ultimately to be in the strongest possible position, both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” he said, adding that Ukraine could win more battles with the help of Western nations.
He said that it was the responsibility of the U.S. and the international community to “flow weapons and military assistance to Ukraine” to fight against Russia.
“Weapons are arriving every day, including today,” Sullivan affirmed, adding that his government is committed to providing Ukraine with “the weapons it needs.”
The United States has already sent $1.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
Weapons shipments have included anti-aircraft Stinger and anti-tank Javelin missiles, as well as ammunition and body armor.
On Sunday, the top official of the European Commission announced that Ukraine could become part of the European Union in a matter of weeks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in an interview with CNN said the process of joining the alliance can take years in normal, but the Ukrainians “are in an extraordinary situation, where we have to take unusual steps.”
“Yesterday, somebody told me: “You know, when our soldiers are dying, I want them to know that their children will be free be and be part of the European Union,” von der Leyen said. “They are in an extraordinary situation, where we have to take unusual steps.”
Ukrainians, she added, “belong to our European family, without any question.”
Russia appointed a new commander in Ukraine as the simmering conflict entered its seventh week.
According to reports, the Russian government appointed General Alexander Dvornikov, 60, one of Russia’s most experienced military officers, as the first central commander on the ground in Ukraine.
The Russian military said Monday it used sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles to destroy four S-300 air defense missile launchers near the city of Dnipro, just days after Slovakia sent Ukraine an S-300 air defense system in a deal worked out by the U.S.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that Ukraine had received the technology from an unnamed European country and that about two dozen Ukrainian troops were also hit by the strike.
Slovakia was able to provide a system to Ukraine because the U.S. was willing to give Slovakia a Patriot battery to replace it, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday thousands of Russian troops were massing for a new offensive in the east, and Russia said it would not halt its military operation in Ukraine for any further peace talks.
British intelligence said Ukrainian forces had already repulsed several Russian assaults in eastern regions.
Russian forces were also pushing to establish control over the southern port city of Mariupol, the lynchpin between Russian-held areas to the west and east and already devastated by weeks of siege and bombardment.
“There are tens of thousands of dead, but even despite this, the Russians are not stopping their offensive,” Zelensky told South Korea’s parliament by videolink. The accuracy of his estimate could not be verified immediately.
About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million population have been forced from their homes, cities turned into rubble, and thousands of people have been killed or injured - many of them civilians.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin would not halt its operation for any new round of peace talks, accusing Kiev of failing to reciprocate in previous sessions.
Lavrov told state television he saw no reason not to continue with talks. But although Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered a suspension of military action during a first round in February, Moscow’s position had changed, he said.
“A decision was made that during the next rounds of talks, there would be no pause (in military action) so long as a final agreement is not reached,” Lavrov said.
Austrian leader Karl Nehammer was due to meet Putin in Moscow on Monday and was expected to call for an end to the conflict. It would be Putin’s first face-to-face meeting with a European Union leader since Russia’s invasion started on Feb. 24. “It must stop!” Nehammer wrote on Twitter
For now at least, Russian forces have abandoned their attempt to capture the capital Kiev but they are redoubling their efforts in the east.