Russia Issues Warning as US Arrives in Ukraine
Local Editor
Russia's Foreign Ministry called the arrival of US military trainers in western Ukraine a "provocation" and warned Ukrainians and their leaders that they should rethink the consequences of hosting the Western forces.
The Pentagon had previously announced that as many as 300 soldiers from the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Italy, would be sent to the Lviv region on Ukraine's western border to train Ukrainian servicemen.
Lukashevich said the US forces who arrived for their seven-month mission intended to teach Ukrainian soldiers "how to use overseas military equipment."
He added that discussion continues in the United States about sending arms to the Ukrainian government as well as the instructors.
"It is evident that they are not trying to bring peace to the country," Lukashevich said of Washington's military aid to Ukraine, which Moscow officials and state-controlled media portray as an anti-Russian collaboration.
Moreover, the US-Russian relationship could be significantly further damaged if "the citizens of Donbas start being killed with the use of the US weapons," Lukashevich stated.
Lukashevich also lashed out over NATO warships engaged in exercises in the Black Sea, which Russia regards as a strategic outlet to the Mediterranean that is within Moscow's traditional sphere of influence.
Henceforth, Russian considered the US and NATO activities around Ukraine as American interference in regional security affairs.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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