Russia has accused NATO of waging a proxy war by supplying weapons to Ukraine as explosions in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria raise fears of a new front in the conflict.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the danger of World War III was “serious and real” and that Moscow saw the weapons provided to Ukraine by the alliance as legitimate targets.
“NATO is essentially going to war with Russia through a proxy and arming this proxy. “War means war,” Lavrov said.
His comments came as Western allies promised new packages of even more powerful weapons to Ukraine during a meeting at a German air base.
NATO partners recently approved supplies of hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons, including artillery and drones, which they refrained from sending during the earlier phase of the war, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said there was more help.
This map shows the extent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
(Images of the press association)
“Nations around the world are united in our determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian imperial aggression,” he told officials from more than 40 countries at Ramstein Air Force Base. “Ukraine clearly believes it can win, as does everyone here.”
In a remarkable change, Germany, whose government had previously come under fire after refusing Ukrainian calls for major weapons, has announced it will now send Cheetah light tanks equipped with anti-aircraft guns. Berlin also said it would train Ukrainian troops on German soil.
Ukraine has renewed calls for more military support
(AP)
Moldova has raised the level of the terrorist threat, and the Kremlin has expressed serious concern after two explosions damaged Soviet-era radio masts in the pro-Russian breakaway region of Transnistria, where authorities said a military unit was also targeted.
Moldovan authorities are sensitive to any signs of growing tensions in Transnistria, an unrecognized Moscow-backed territory bordering southwestern Ukraine.
Ukraine said it was an attempt by Russia to involve the region in the war, but Moscow blamed the bombings on “terrorists”.
Analysts say it is unclear whether the incidents were an operation under a false Kremlin flag or genuine sabotage by anti-Russian groups.
In eastern Ukraine, authorities in the besieged city of Mariupol said the Azovstal steel plant, currently used as a refuge for Ukrainian civilians and remaining troops, had been hit by 35 airstrikes in the past 24 hours.
“Russia has drastically increased its strikes in the last 24 hours and is using heavy bunker bombs,” said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the Mariupol mayor. “The number of wounded will be clear once the ruins are cleared.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, bloodshed continues as local authorities say at least nine people have been killed and several others injured in Russian attacks in small and large cities in the east. Pavlo Kirilenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, told the Telegram news release that Russian forces “continue to deliberately fire on civilians and destroy critical infrastructure.”
In addition, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russia’s offensive in the Kharkiv region has intensified as Russian troops try to advance.
Heavy fighting continues in eastern Ukraine
(Reuters)
In its latest assessment of the fighting, the UK Ministry of Defense reported Russian attacks and heavy fighting in the Donbass, with one city, Kremina, apparently falling after days of street-to-street fighting.
The Minister of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, James Happy, said that the intensified attacks of Vladimir Putin in the east were part of the desire to win the war before the parade on the Victory Day of Russia on May 9. But speaking to BBC Breakfast, he added that Russian commanders “will know from all their command and staff training that it is absolutely foolish to launch an offensive before you have gained all your fighting power”.
He added that “forcing the Russian army to launch an offensive now, just so Putin can have a good day in the sun” would cost Russia thousands of lives.
Russia’s defense ministry has warned of a swift and “proportionate” response if the UK continues its “direct provocation” of the regime in Kyiv.
On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres began talks in Moscow with Lavrov and Putin.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hold a joint press conference after talks in Moscow
(AFP via Getty)
“We are extremely interested in finding ways to create conditions for effective dialogue, to create conditions for a ceasefire as soon as possible, to create conditions for a peaceful solution,” Mr Guterres said at a meeting with Mr Lavrov ahead of the talks. with the Russian president.
In a separate development, the UN refugee agency said it expected about 8.3 million refugees to flee Ukraine by the end of the year.
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