Russia: The West is playing with fire
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the West, by arming and inciting Ukraine to attack Russian territory, is actually seeking to escalate tensions and is playing with fire.
Moscow's warning came as Ukraine's attacks on Russian cities intensified and Kyiv lost parts of the Kharkov region to Russia.
According to the RT news agency, Maria Zakharova told reporters about sending weapons from the West to Ukraine, noting that “they not only gave Kyiv long-range missiles and heavy weapons, but also gave it the green light to use these weapons against Russia, adding: “ The profiles of American and British managers are clearly visible behind these brutal attacks."
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also added: “Moscow is equally warning Washington, London, Brussels (European Union) and other Western capitals and Kyiv, which is under their control, that they are playing with fire, because Russia will not tolerate aggression on its territory.”
On Thursday and Friday, drones of the Ukrainian army and navy carried out a joint attack on Crimea, Krasnodar and other regions of Russia, during which, according to the Ministry of Defense of this country, in the middle of the day they intercepted more than a hundred Ukrainian drones in the sky and simultaneously shot down six Ukrainian drones.
According to the governor of the Belgorod region of Russia, Vyacheslav Gladkov, in just one day (May 12), 19 civilians were killed in the Belgorod region. On Friday, Gladkov reported on his Telegram channel that a Ukrainian drone struck a military vehicle, killing a mother and her four-year-old daughter.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday that Ukraine's mortar attacks on residential areas would force Moscow to create a buffer zone on the border, and "if (the shelling) continues, they will be forced to create a security zone."
The American newspaper The New York Times reported last month, citing senior officials of the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), that the US has allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missile systems against positions in Crimea. Also, British Defense Minister Grant Shapps confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that London gave Kyiv permission to attack Crimea using British weapons.
