Washington is set to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, as evidenced by statements about a likely increase in the supply of HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems to the Kyiv regime, said Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov.

“It is extremely worrying that a senior Pentagon official admits the possibility of expanding the supply of long-range systems.

Such words can be regarded as Washington's intention to go for further escalation.

This only confirms that the Americans have no aspirations for a peaceful settlement,” the diplomat said.

He added that this rhetoric sounds on the eve of a meeting of NATO allies, which will discuss issues of providing military support to Ukraine.

“Apparently, in this way the administration sets up like-minded people for the lack of alternatives to the course of pumping weapons into the Kyiv regime,” Antonov emphasized.

According to him, the West prefers not to notice that Ukrainian nationalists continue, using the artillery supplied by them, to shell residential areas of cities where there are no military units even close.

“One can only be horrified by the likely consequences of the use of HIMARS MLRS by the Nazis in attacks on cities and other civilian targets,” the diplomat said.

Controversial HIMARS

The other day, US Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said that the Ukrainian side has already received the first HIMARS systems, and the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being trained to work with them.

The official added that Washington will hand over new MLRS to Kyiv as the Ukrainians prepare the military to handle them.

“We intend to provide the Ukrainians with the necessary means to hit targets on Ukrainian territory.

Since this system is not traditionally part of the Ukrainian arsenal, they need training.

So, we have provided the initial batch of HIMARS systems, and the Ukrainians are currently completing preparations (to use these systems. -

RT

).

We expect these systems to arrive soon for combat operations and intend to continue to supply these weapons, as, as far as I know, other allies and partners, ”said Kahl.

The official added that the Pentagon will provide Kyiv with intelligence to strike with these MLRS at targets in Ukraine. 

Earlier, the White House announced the transfer of HIMARS complexes to Ukraine.

These MLRS are part of a $700 million military aid package for Kyiv, along with radars, helicopters and anti-tank weapons, including Javelin systems.

Until the last moment, the US authorities made conflicting statements about the supply of multiple launch rocket systems to the Ukrainian side, which could be used for potential strikes on Russian territory.

So, President Joe Biden said on May 30 that Washington would not transfer such complexes to Kyiv.

At the same time, the American media noted that the MLRS MLRS, which Kyiv also requested, could strike at a distance of up to 300 km.

However, the very next day, The New York Times published a column in which the US President announced his decision to supply Kyiv with modern missile systems and ammunition for them to strike at key targets on the battlefield.

Biden administration officials later said the White House decided to hand over the HIMARS systems to Kyiv after receiving assurances from the Ukrainian side that they would not be used to strike Russian territory.

The administration also noted that the range of missiles transferred to Kyiv would not exceed 80 km.

The manufacturer Lockheed Martin claims that, depending on the type of missiles used, HIMARS can strike at a distance of up to 300 km, and in the future - up to 500 km. 

  • Complexes HIMARS

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At the same time, Deputy Pentagon Chief Colin Kahl, commenting on the sending of the MLRS to the Ukrainian side, noted that Washington was not interested in escalating the conflict.

“We are not interested in the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict or its spillover into the third world war, so we take this into account.

But at the same time, Russia does not have the right to veto what we send to Ukraine,” the official said.

Without trust

Commenting on the transfer of HIMARS systems to Ukraine, the Kremlin noted that Moscow has no reason to trust statements made from Kyiv that these systems will not be used for strikes on Russian territory.

“In order to be trusted, one must have experience of cases where promises were kept.

Unfortunately, such experience is completely absent, - emphasized the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.

“Our competent departments and the Ministry of Defense, border guards see all the risks, they systematically assess them and take appropriate measures.”

The very same such supplies indicate that Washington continues to stir up the situation in Ukraine, said the Kremlin spokesman.

“There is nothing new here, we believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire.

The United States, obviously, really sticks to the line in order to fight with Russia to the last Ukrainian, ”Peskov said.

"Fraught with unpredictable results"

The transfer of the MLRS to Kyiv indicates that Washington is clearly set to escalate the situation and will continue to follow this course, said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview with RT.

“Senior US officials are openly saying that the US task is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia in Ukraine.

They will pump Ukraine with weapons to the fullest, creating a second Afghanistan out of it, so that the Russian army will lose significant resources.

They are ready to spend huge amounts of money to ensure that Russia is defeated.

There is nothing surprising in this, it is absolutely built into the context of the US anti-Russian policy, ”the expert emphasized.

According to the interlocutor of RT, Kyiv is talking about its intention not to use these systems for strikes on Russian territory just to get them from the United States.

“Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned Ukraine and the West that in response we will strike at the so-called decision-making centers ... The United States and Ukraine should understand that this is fraught with unpredictable results, primarily for Ukraine itself,” Blokhin added. .

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    Stephen Wright/US Army Photo/Alamy Live News

In turn, the Director General of the Center for Political Information Alexei Mukhin, in an interview with RT, noted that Ukrainian militants are already using American weapons to strike civilians in the Donbass.

“Heavy weapons, including howitzers, are actively used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Battalions, despite the statements of the Ukrainian leadership, against the civilian population of Donbass.

What raises a question for the leadership of Western countries: do they understand what they are doing?

Western weapons are killing civilians in Donbass.

In fact, they transfer weapons to paramilitary units that are engaged in terrorist activities, ”the political scientist emphasized.

He stated that this method of action is far from new for the United States, since Washington has been arming terrorists in the Middle East for many years.

“This way of waging war is not moral, not legal, and, in my opinion, needs an appropriate legal assessment from the world community,” Mukhin summed up.