Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry, accused the West of “aggression” and that it was “using” the Ukrainian leadership to achieve its goals. He also singled out United Kingdom Armed Forces Secretary James Heappey, who said earlier this week that it was “legal” for Ukraine to strike inside Russia. Moscow has claimed that the minister called on Ukraine to use weapons provided by NATO. “We would like Kyiv and the western capitals to take seriously the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense that the further challenge that will push Ukraine to strike against the Russian facilities will be met with a harsh response from Russia,” he said. “Advisers from Western countries living in the decision-making centers of Ukraine will not necessarily be a problem for Russia’s reactionary measures. We do not advise to continue to test our patience “. He was following in the footsteps of Vladimir Putin, who said on Wednesday that his response would be “lightning fast” if the West intervened in its “special military operation” in Ukraine. The Kremlin reported a series of bombings in southern Russia and a fire at an ammunition depot on Wednesday, the latest in a series of incidents described by a top Ukrainian official as retaliation and “karma” for the Moscow invasion. Further escalating tensions, an aide to the Ukrainian president said on Thursday that people recognized that his country had the right to defend itself by attacking Russian military bases and warehouses. Writing on Twitter, Mykhailo Podolyak said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – who visited Kyiv last week – said Ukraine had to decide whether to strike Russian military bases. “Russia has attacked and (killed) civilians. Ukraine will defend itself in any way, including the attacks on the warehouses and bases of the killers. “People recognize this right,” wrote Podolyak, the president’s aide. It comes as the pro-Russian breakaway region of Moldavia in Transnistria raised its level of terrorist threat on Tuesday after two blasts damaged Soviet-era radio and reportedly fired from Ukrainian territory overnight at a village near the village. large ammunition depot. The region’s interior ministry also said it had spotted drones that it said had been launched from Ukraine. View of the damaged building of the Ministry of State Security, in Tiraspol, the capital of the breakaway region of Transnistria (AP) Foreign Minister Liz Truss called on Western allies to send tanks, warplanes and other heavy weapons to Ukraine, saying fears of escalation of the war were unfounded and “inaction would be the biggest challenge.” “It’s time for courage, not for attention,” among the nations helping Ukraine fight the Russian invasion, she said. “Heavy weapons, tanks, planes – digging deep into our stocks, increasing production. “We have to do all this,” said Ms Tous during her annual foreign policy address at the Mansion House. Responding to the foreign minister’s comments, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov said on Thursday that the supply of heavy weapons to Kyiv would threaten the security of the European continent. “By itself, the tendency to draw arms, including heavy weapons, in Ukraine and other countries are actions that threaten the security of the continent and cause instability,” Peshkov told reporters. Ms Troy said more and heavier weapons needed to be delivered to Ukraine (PA Wire) NATO, meanwhile, has said it is ready to support Ukraine for years in the war against Russia, including helping Kyiv move from Soviet-era weapons to modern Western military equipment, the secretary-general said on Thursday. of the Jens Stoltenberg alliance. “We have to be prepared for the long term … there is absolutely a possibility that this war will last for months and years,” Stoltenberg told a youth summit in Brussels. Russia has also accused the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) of providing information on the location of Russian and pro-Russian forces in the Western and Ukrainian secret services, further disappointing the Kremlin. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ms Zakharova made the remarks during a press conference, but did not provide any details. He said researchers from the self-proclaimed breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic, backed by Russia, would provide additional evidence. The OSCE has a monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014.
