Arms supplies to Ukraine from the West will not contribute to the settlement, but they may encourage Kiev to carry out new provocations in the Donbass. This was announced on October 21 by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko.
"We do not believe that military supplies to Ukraine will contribute to the settlement of the conflict in Donbass. We believe that this will kind of encourage the Ukrainian authorities to possible provocations against the self-proclaimed republics," he told RIA Novosti.
At the same time, Rudenko stressed that the settlement in the Donbass should be carried out "not through military ways of supporting Ukraine, but through putting enlightening pressure on it."
"All this is necessary for Kiev to return to the implementation of the Minsk agreements," the deputy head of the Russian Foreign Ministry summed up.
Earlier on Thursday, The Times newspaper reported that for the first time the UK is negotiating with Ukraine on the sale of weapons amid Kiev's fears of Russia using the gas crisis to seize the territory of the republic. It was clarified that the Ministry of Defense is discussing the sale of Brimstone surface—to-surface missiles capable of hitting groups of targets simultaneously: they are planned to be placed on ships in service with the Ukrainian Navy.
On October 11, advisor to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Alexey Arestovich said that the United States had supplied the country with a new batch of lethal weapons. According to him, Washington provided Kiev with weapons due to the risk of escalation of the conflict with Russia.
Prior to that, on September 7, Verkhovna Rada deputy Sergei Rakhmanin said that American Javelin anti-aircraft missile systems would not be enough for Ukraine to win the war. He noted that providing the United States with its aircraft would be a call for Kiev to more in-depth cooperation.
In 2020, Ukraine negotiated with the United States on the purchase of three large batches of weapons. Kiev received two Island boats in 2019 and planned to receive three more pieces of equipment.
Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass since 2014, who refused to recognize the results of the coup in the country. The Ukrainian authorities blame Moscow for the current situation. The Russian Federation has repeatedly stressed that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and called on Kiev to settle with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.
