Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoli Antonov, says the transfer of long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine is “impossible to justify”, reports Sky News.
Three US officials told NBC News that Ukraine has already used the US military’s tactical missile system – dubbed ATACMS – twice against Russia.
In response, Anatoli Antonov said that “local officials have ‘retroactively’ confirmed that extremely dangerous weapons were sent to Kiev” and called it a “treacherous act”.
According to the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel, he added that Russia “has already shot down several ATACMS missiles” and “will continue to do so.”
Antonov also said: “Aren’t local politicians afraid of drowning in the mire of the conflict? Washington will not be able to get out of the horrible swamp that has absorbed the blood of soldiers.”
Also Thursday, the Kremlin said Thursday that Western long-range missiles would not fundamentally change the outcome of the conflict, now in its third year.
“The United States is directly involved in this conflict. It is about to increase the range of the weapons systems it already supplies. This will not fundamentally change the outcome of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
