Russia Warns West of Escalating Tensions in Ukraine Conflict

By Staff, Agencies

Russia has censured the "dangerous" Ukraine-related remarks made by France’s President Emanuel Macron and UK's Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

Macron on Thursday reiterated that he does not rule out the option of sending French forces to fight against Russian troops in Ukraine, while Cameron said on the same day that Ukraine will be allowed to use British long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russia.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two officials' comments posed "dangerous" threats that could damage Europe's security.

"This is a very dangerous trend. We are watching this closely. We continue and will continue our special military operation until all our goals are achieved," he said.

"These are examples of a direct escalation of tensions around the Ukrainian conflict, which can potentially pose a threat to European security," he added.

Peskov said Moscow was deeply concerned about such rhetoric coming from official representatives, noting the continued tendency towards escalating tensions with Russia in official statements by Western politicians.

Also on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova insisted that Western countries were waging a war against the Russian troops in Ukraine with the use of foreign weapons.

Zakharova said Western politicians had openly admitted that "the West is waging an open war against Russia at the hands of Ukrainians."

The diplomat noted remarks by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell who asserted that without Western arms supplies Ukraine would capitulate in two weeks.

"An amazing confession! Here’s the entire ‘peace formula’ for you - the end of Western arms supplies to the Kiev regime," she wrote on her Telegram channel.

Despite US-led NATO Western countries all-out support for Ukraine, its military has conceded that Russian troops are stronger than Kiev's forces, having more weapons and munitions.

Deputy chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, Major-General Vadym Skibitsky, said, “Our problem is very simple: We have no weapons.”

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that Russian troops had liberated more than 500 square kilometers from Ukrainian forces since the start of the year.

“The Russian groups of forces continue to break through the enemy’s strongholds along the entire line of contact,” Shoigu said.

Russia’s troops launched a special military operation in eastern Ukraine in February 2022 to stop NATO's gradual encroachment towards Russian borders.