Tension does not appear to dissipate anytime soon between Russia and Ukraine as the Kremlin has vowed to respond “appropriately” if the United States allows Kyiv to use American-supplied missiles to strike Russia.
Russia’s fresh pledge to retaliate comes after US President Joe Biden said he was “working that out”.
Asked what the Kremlin’s answer to the move would be, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told news agency AFP: “It will be appropriate,” adding that Russia’s offensive on Ukraine was itself a “response” to the West’s support for Kyiv.
The Russian government is contemplating the downgrading of diplomatic ties with Western nations, according to a statement made by the Kremlin on Thursday.
This, the Kremlin said, is a result of the increasing engagement of the United States and its allies in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, no final decision has been reached at this time.
Russia’s remark comes when the US and British top diplomats are in Ukraine to discuss further easing rules on firing Western weapons into Russia which has allegedly acquired Iranian missiles.
The US, Britain, and Germany issued a joint statement labelling the transfer of missiles as “a direct threat to European security” and are mulling to impose penalties on Tehran, which include cancelling bilateral air services agreements and sanctioning individuals and entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program. They also aim to impose sanctions on Iran Air.
In a rare joint trip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the nine-hour train from Poland to Kyiv alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy, whose two-month-old Labour government has vowed to keep up Britain’s role as a key defender of Ukraine.
The visit comes amid Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s constant demand to the West to provide weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.