Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the European Union and other countries of “dangerously” backing the supply of arms to Ukraine, as it resists an incursion by thousands of Russian troops.
“We see how dangerously our Western colleagues, including in the European Union, are acting now, which, in violation of all their so-called principles and values, encourage the supply of deadly weapons to Ukraine,” Lavrov said.
“We believe these countries are creating a colossal danger for themselves,” the foreign minister told a press conference in Turkey following a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
Lavrov singled out the deliveries of portable air defence systems, saying that they could be used to create “risks for civil aviation”.
“Where these thousands of portable missile systems are going to end up is a question we put to our colleagues in the European Union,” Lavrov added.
Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine, which is entering its third week, has seen Western countries sharply increase supplies of military aid to their pro-Western ally Ukraine.