US President Joe Biden is set to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for talks in Berlin that are expected to focus on Ukraine and the Middle East.
The sit-down comes after Biden announced a new $425 million military aid package to the Kiev regime, which includes "air defense capability" as well as air-to-ground munitions, armored vehicles, and critical munitions, according to the White House.
The capabilities in the announcement include additional munitions for HIMARS; missiles for NASAMS, RIM-7, Stinger, and support for air defenses; TOW anti-tank missiles; Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems; spare parts, services, training, and transportation, the Pentagon said.
Russia earlier stressed that the US and its NATO allies are playing with fire by providing the Volodymyr Zelensky regime with military aid, something that Moscow says directly draws Western countries into the conflict.
President Vladimir Putin for his part emphasized that as a tit-for-tat measure, Russia is not ruling out sending arms to other countries. "Let the West think about where these weapons will finally be deployed," Putin added, referencing Western countries’ remarks that they are delivering arms to Ukraine without paying attention to how the weapons are used.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously noted that any cargo containing weapons for Kiev would be a legitimate target for Russia. He said that the US and NATO are directly involved in the Ukraine conflict, not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel in the UK, Germany, Italy, and other countries.