Kremlin says Biden is ‘diligently adding fuel to the fire’ by sending advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine and is increasing the risk of a confrontation between U.S. and Russia

• Russia is accusing President Joe Biden of ‘purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire’ of conflict in Ukraine by sending advanced rocket systems to Kyiv 
• ‘The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian,’ Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday
• White House officials said the weapons are only being sent after receiving ‘assurances’ from Ukraine that it will not use the missiles to strike inside Russia  
• Biden said in an op-ed Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with ‘more advanced rocket systems and munitions’ 
• Comes on the eve of the announcement of the 11th package of security assistance for the war in Ukraine 
• The use of the medium-range rocket systems will be restricted to be used only in Ukraine

The Kremlin on Wednesday accused President Joe Biden of adding fuel to the fire in the war between Russia and Ukraine by pledging to send advanced rockets to Kyiv.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he doesn’t trust Ukraine not to fire the weapons into Russia even though Biden promised that the systems would not be used to shoot targets at Ukraine’s hostile eastern and northern neighbor.

‘We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire,’ Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. ‘The U.S. is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian.’

When asked how Russia would respond if Ukraine used U.S.-supplied rockets to strike on Russian soil, Peskov said: ‘Let’s not talk about worst-case scenarios.’

Biden agreed as part of a $700 million weapons package to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets, but only after receiving ‘assurances’ they would not use the missiles to strike inside Russia.

The rockets are capable of hitting targets as far as 50 miles.

The president said Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with ‘more advanced rocket systems and munitions’ in a new op-ed for The New York Times outlining, ‘What America Will and Will Not Do in Ukraine.’

White House officials insist that the use of the medium-range rocket systems will be restricted to defense use only in Ukraine.

‘The Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets in Russian territory, and so based on those assurances we are very comfortable they will not,’ a senior White House official said on a call with reporters. 

Russia is accusing President Joe Biden of ‘purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire’ by sending advanced rocket systems to Ukraine. White House officials said the weapons are only being sent after receiving ‘assurances’ Kyiv would not use the missiles to strike inside Russia

Biden said in an op-ed published Tuesday night that he would be arming Ukraine with ‘more advanced rocket systems and munitions’

Additionally, the White House said it would not be providing Ukraine with longer-range systems. 

Biden’s op-ed was published on the eve of the announcement of the 11th package of security assistance for the war in Ukraine.

‘We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition,’ Biden wrote.

That package, worth $700 million, will include HMARS – High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems – and ammunition, counter-fire radars, a number of air surveillance radars, additional Javelins, anti-armor weapons, more artillery rounds, several helicopters, additional tactical vehicles and a spare parts package, a White House official said. 

Smoke rises in the city of Severodonetsk during heavy fightings between Ukrainian and Russian troops at eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas

Administration officials were pressed several times on whether Ukraine’s leadership had pledged not to use the new rockets on the border to shoot inside Russia – before saying they had made that agreement. 

‘We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,’ Biden said in the op-ed. 

‘We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia,’ the president also offered. 

Ukrainian forces are expected to use the rockets to target Russian forces in the Donbas region.  

The package will be the first financed by the most recent supplemental appropriations bill passed by Congress, which Biden signed into law during his trip to Asia. 

 

State television channel Russia One’s host Olga Skabeyeva  said World War Three is already underway as she effectively declared war on the United Kingdom, US and NATO and advocated for a fresh Russian military campaign extending beyond Ukraine’s borders

The Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine is going into its fourth month after initially invading on February 24, 2022.

Russian propagandists claim that World War Three has already begun and warn that Britain and the U.S. will ‘pay a heavy price’ for interfering in the war with Ukraine.

In her latest broadcast, state television channel Russia One’s anchor Olga Skabeyeva effectively declared war on the United Kingdom, U.S. and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and advocated for a fresh Russian military campaign extended beyond Ukraine’s borders.

‘Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that Russia’s special operation in Ukraine has come to an end, in a sense that a real war has started: WWIII,’ Skabeyeva said.

She added: ‘We are forced to conduct the demilitarization not only of Ukraine, but of the entire NATO alliance.’

Her statement came on the 60 minutes program, which sees several Moscow analysts, commentators and ‘political experts’ gather to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.

Vladimir Avatkov, from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then delivered his own warning to Western allies providing support to Kyiv.

‘We need to remember the words of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who said that anyone who tries to interfere in the special military operation will pay a heavy price,’ he said solemnly – but the threats quickly began to escalate even further.

The presenter’s repeated calls for Russia to take on the West appeared too outlandish for Avatkov, who quietly reminded the panel: ‘No need to rush, there is a line… everything will come in time.’

But the outright call for war with NATO is just the latest in a string of bombastic Kremlin-controlled propaganda broadcasts designed to inspire patriotism in Russian citizens and turn the narrative against the West.

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