Russian Defense Ministry Sergey Shoigu has said that NATO's increased arms supplies to the Kiev regime won't bring Ukraine success on the battlefield.
"The support of the Kiev regime by NATO countries does not lead to the success of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. On the contrary, there is a significant increase in losses among the personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces," Shoigu said at a meeting with the Russian armed forces' leadership on Tuesday.
In February alone, Ukraine's losses increased by more than 40% month-on-month and exceeded 11,000, the minister added.
The US and its allies ramped up their military assistance to Kiev after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine. Western countries have been providing Kiev with various types of weapons systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and anti-aircraft guns.
Moscow has repeatedly warned the West that by sending weapons to Kiev, it adds to prolonging the Ukrainian conflict.
The Russian Foreign Ministry underscored that NATO countries “play with fire" by supplying weapons to Kiev, and that any convoy of arms for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, stressed that Western countries are directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, stressed that US aid packages are a direct path to escalating tensions, but that Westerm assistance will not change the course of events in Ukraine.