Thread: Lavrov Accuses Ukraine Of Drawing Outside Countries Into War - US Missiles A 'Direct

Lavrov Accuses Ukraine Of Drawing Outside Countries Into War - US Missiles A 'Direct Provocation'

WEDNESDAY, JUN 01, 2022 - 11:45 AM

In some of the Kremlin's strongest words yet denouncing Western arms shipments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Ukraine that newly ramped up arms transfers including US missile systems being sent to Kiev risks drawing a third country into the war.
In the Wednesday statements, he accused Ukraine of seeking to involve outside countries, and slammed the missile transfer as marking a 'direct provocation'. His words come on the heels of Biden on Tuesday night announcing longer range missile systems for Ukraine, which however likely can't reach Russian territory, given they are short to "medium range" systems. Moscow previously called the White House's expressed desire to avoid direct confrontation with Russia a "rational" policy.



But Lavrov took the opportunity to warn hawks both in the US and Europe: "I will say it frankly: not everyone in the European Union, especially in its northern part [understands this]. There are politicians, who are ready to do this madness in order to satisfy their ambitions. But serious countries in the EU naturally are well aware that such scenarios are unacceptable," the top diplomat said according to state media.
The blistering attack also seemed aimed a Germany, which just announced new anti-air radar and defense systems for Ukraine:

Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T modern air defence and radar systems, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Berlin is not doing enough to help Kyiv in its fight against Russia.
“The government has decided that we will send the IRIS-T system – the most modern system that Germany currently possesses,” the German chancellor told parliament.

In separate statements on the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia "does not believe Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s claims that Kiev will not attack Russian territory, should it obtain US-made long-range multiple launch rocket systems."
Already there have been multiple cross-border incidents in which Russian towns or villages were shelled. According to TASS, Peskov said:

"No," the spokesman said, answering a question whether the Kremlin trusts Zelensky’s words. "In order to trust, there must be previous experience when such promises were fulfilled. Unfortunately, such experience is completely nonexistent," Peskov explained.
"On the contrary, the entire history of events proves that, starting with Zelensky’s main campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine’s southeast once and for all, [the promise] was not fulfilled, and the Minsk Agreements were not implemented, they sunk into oblivion, and by Ukraine’s fault at that," the spokesman pointed out.

"So we don’t really have any trust credit for the Ukrainian side," he emphasized in follow-up.
Russia is now warning of 'worst case scenarios' regarding the missile transfer...



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KREMLIN SAYS RUSSIA TAKES 'VERY NEGATIVE VIEW' OF U.S. WEAPONS SUPPLIES, THEY DON'T HELP TO ENCOURAGE UKRAINE TO RENEW PEACE TALKSKREMLIN DECLINES COMMENT ON HOW RUSSIA WILL RESPOND IF UKRAINE FIRES U.S. MISSILES INTO ITS TERRITORY, SAYS LET'S NOT TALK ABOUT WORST SCENARIOS

8:25 AM · Jun 1, 2022

The night before, Biden stated in his NY Times op-ed that "We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia. As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow," Biden wrote. "So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces," he added.
However, it seems Russia is now implicitly warning that it will hold the US accountable for any 'mishaps' regarding the US rockets in the hands of Ukrainian forces.


Lavrov Accuses Ukraine Of Drawing Outside Countries Into War - US Missiles A 'Direct Provocation' | ZeroHedge

Russia Holds Nuclear Forces Drill As Biden Unveils $700M More In Arms For Ukraine

WEDNESDAY, JUN 01, 2022 - 10:30 AM

Russia's nuclear forces have launched fresh drills northeast of Moscow, in the Ivanovo province, according to new Russian defense ministry statements Wednesday.
Reuters cited Interfax news agency to report that "Some 1,000 servicemen are exercising in intense maneuvers using over 100 vehicles including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers," based on the Russian MoD statement.

Getty Images

Some Western media reports are seeing the drill as a response and warning to Washington over the White House approving yet more military aid and weapons to Ukraine, particularly longer range rockets.
Newsweek, for example, writes that "The report follows the announcement that the U.S. has approved a $700m package of security assistance to be sent to Kyiv, which will include helicopters, anti-tank weapon systems and medium-range high mobility artillery rocket systems."
The Kremlin is meanwhile issuing new warnings over the US violating its stated "red lines"...

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV SAYS THERE ARE RISKS THAT A THIRD COUNTRY COULD BECOME INVOLVED IN UKRAINE CONFLICT DUE TO SUPPLIES OF ROCKET LAUNCHERS

It also comes interestingly as a new consensus has emerged that Russian forces are winning in Donbas, amid the latest steady gains over the whole of Luhansk province, and as the final Ukrainian holdout city of Sievierodonetsk is poised to fall to the Russians. The fresh White House move to send in longer range rockets (which are in effect 'medium-range') seems aimed at stalling the Russian gains made in Donbas.
The Biden administration last week said it would reject the possibility of sending long-range rockets, fearing things could spiral toward rapid escalation with Russia, after the Kremlin declared "red lines" concerning this type of major West-supplied weaponry.
In President Biden's Tuesday New York Times op-ed outlining "what America will do and not do in Ukraine," he stressed that he doesn't believe Russia intends to use nuclear weapons. "I know many people around the world are concerned about the use of nuclear weapons," he began on this point.
Location of Wednesday's drills in Ivanovo Oblast:



"We currently see no indication that Russia has intent to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, though Russia’s occasional rhetoric to rattle the nuclear saber is itself dangerous and extremely irresponsible. Let me be clear: Any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict on any scale would be completely unacceptable to us as well as the rest of the world and would entail severe consequences," the president said.

Russia Holds Nuclear Forces Drill As Biden Unveils $700M More In Arms For Ukraine | ZeroHedge

Europol Warns Weapons Shipped To Ukraine Could Be Used By "Criminal Groups" For Years

WEDNESDAY, JUN 01, 2022 - 08:44 AM

In a weekend German media interview the head of the European police agency Europol has issued a dire warning about the huge amount of weapons being pumped from the West into Ukraine.
Europol Director Catherine De Bolle told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the flood of weapons on the Ukraine-Russia battlefield could end up in the hands of criminal groups for years to come. "At some point the war will be over. We want to avoid a situation like the one that followed the war in the Balkans 30 years ago," she said to the publication in reference to conflicts in the wake of Yugoslavia's collapse.
"The weapons from this war are still being used by criminal groups today," De Bolle emphasized in speaking of Balkan conflicts, and what's looking to be a similar situation emerging in Ukraine.



"The situation is highly dynamic and fragmented and we're receiving different figures from our European partners," De Bolle said. She stressed that in response her agency is seeking to "find a way in which we will deal with the situation after a possible end to the war." She described that this will involve Europol "assembling an international task force that will address this issue."
The Ukraine conflict has attracted a reported tens of thousands of foreign volunteers after the government in Kiev established a foreign legion. This has also included American and British military veterans and mercenaries. On this, she explained as cited in Deutsche Welle:

People traveling to Ukraine have different experiences and ideologies. But she said that even those who become disillusioned by the violence they witness there will be under observation.

Russia, for its part, has long highlighted far-right and neo-Nazi groups and the danger of arming them. Azov Battalion in particular had been on the front lines in what is now Russian-controlled Mariupol, and is believed to be a main Ukrainian fighting force in Donbass.
The Kremlin has especially complained about Stinger missiles from the US flooding the Ukrainian battlefield. Stingers don't only pose a severe threat to military aircraft, but to civilian aviation as well.



Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle, file imageThe type of scenario that Europol's De Bolle is now alarmed about has already played out in Syria, as has long been documented, given that twin CIA and Pentagon programs to arm so-called "moderate rebels" resulted in an array of weapons, including TOW anti-tank missiles, going straight to Syrian al-Qaeda, ISIS, and all terror groups in between.

Europol Warns Weapons Shipped To Ukraine Could Be Used By "Criminal Groups" For Years | ZeroHedge