The Kremlin criticized the outcome of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington and warned that Russia would continue to target weaponry supplied to Ukraine by the US and its allies.
(Bloomberg) — The Kremlin criticized the outcome of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Washington and warned that Russia would continue to target weaponry supplied to Ukraine by the US and its allies.
Moscow followed Zelenskiy’s meeting with President Joe Biden and speech to the US Congress and saw no sign of a “willingness to listen to Russia’s concerns,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call Thursday, in answer to a question on the visit.
Russia will “of course” target the Patriot air-defense system that the US has pledged to send to Ukraine, he said.
The US and its allies are “constantly expanding the range and raising the technical level” of weapons supplied to Ukraine, though this won’t prevent the Russian military from achieving its goals, he said.
Zelenskiy Wins Applause, Aid in Half-Day Dash Through Washington
Zelenskiy’s visit to the US was his first trip outside Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Feb.
24 invasion that provoked international condemnation and unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s economy. After it failed to seize Ukraine’s capital Kyiv early in the war, Russia’s army has suffered a series of defeats under pressure from a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Putin told his top defense officials Wednesday that Russia has “no limitations” on military spending for the war, adding “I trust that there will be an appropriate response and the results will be achieved.”
With its army increasingly stalled on the battlefield, Russia has turned to targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure with missile strikes aiming to deprive civilians of heat, power and water in winter.
Bolstered by billions of dollars in US and European military supplies and financial aid, Ukrainian authorities have sounded increasingly confident that they can defeat Russia’s invasion and regain all of the territories taken in the war.
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