Russia on Wednesday warned the United States to stop a “spiral of escalation” over Ukraine as the U.S. seeks to quickly deliver more weapons to Kiev as the Biden administration winds down.
“The signal is very clear and unequivocal: stop, we shouldn't do this anymore, we don't need to feed.” Kyiv We have everything they want, but do not encourage new military adventures, they are too dangerous,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian state media.
Despite the warning, Ryabkov also said the Russian government would continue to inform the US government about the missile test to avoid “dangerous mistakes.”
The comments came after Russia last week launched what was described as a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as Oreshnik. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the missile was designed to hit targets thousands of miles away and had struck the Ukrainian military headquarters.
President Putin last week lowered the nuclear threshold by authorizing the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) (which the Biden administration has not yet officially confirmed), potentially allowing Russia to deploy nuclear weapons against Ukraine. He reiterated his concerns.
Putin acknowledged that the nuclear launches and lowering of nuclear restrictions were a direct response to Ukraine's authorization to the United States to use ATAMCS to carry out further attacks inside Russian territory, but this has been calling it a red line that should not be crossed for months.
The Biden administration announced last week that it would authorize Ukraine to use anti-personnel landmines in an effort to lessen Russian advances into the battlefield, reversing a policy set by Biden at the beginning of his term.
Additionally, President Biden is rushing to provide the last of about $9 billion in security aid to Ukraine before his term ends on January 20th. The latest aid package of approximately $275 million was announced last Wednesday.
“the current [U.S.] The regime must stop this spiral of escalation,” Ryabkov said. “We have to do that. Otherwise, the situation will become too dangerous for everyone, including the United States itself.”
But he added that the Kremlin would continue to warn Washington about the launches to avoid tensions spiraling out of control. Russia reportedly warned the U.S. government about Oreshnik's launch about 30 minutes before Oreshnik's flight.
“I think we understand that this is a stabilizing factor in the very dangerous situation that we're in right now. We're committed to this practice, and the United States is committed to this as well.” '', Ryabkov said. “We also hope that such actions will help reduce the risk of miscalculations and dangerous mistakes.”
