Members of the Ukrainian military climb on top of a tank outside the frontline town of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, March 4, 2023. Photo/REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak
Russian Minister of Defense (Menhan) Sergey Shoigu said increasing the supply of NATO weapons to the Kiev regime would not bring Ukraine success on the battlefield.
“Support for the Kiev regime by NATO countries has not led to the success of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. On the contrary, there has been a significant increase in losses among the personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Shoigu said in a meeting with the leadership of the Russian armed forces on Tuesday (7/3). /2023).
“In February alone, Ukraine’s losses increased by more than 40% month on month and exceeded 11,000 lives,” said the Russian Defense Minister.
The US and its allies have stepped up their military aid to Kiev after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine.
Western countries have provided Kiev with various types of weapons systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery and anti-aircraft guns.
Moscow has repeatedly warned the West that by sending weapons to Kiev it would prolong the Ukrainian conflict.
The Russian Foreign Ministry underlined that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Kiev, and any arms convoy to Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russian troops.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Western countries were directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, stressed a US aid package was a direct way to escalate tensions, but that Western aid would not change the course of events in Ukraine.
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