Kiev couldn’t have struck Russia with ATACMS missiles without Washington’s participation, Sergey Lavrov has said
The West appears to be working towards escalating the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said following reports that US-made ATACMS missiles were used in an attack on Russia’s Bryansk Region.
Previously, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Ukrainian military had launched six long-range ATACMS missiles on the border region, noting that five of them had been intercepted by Russian air-defense systems, while another was damaged and hit the ground near a military base.
The attack comes after US President Joe Biden reportedly authorized the use of American-supplied weapons for strikes deep inside Russia last week.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, Lavrov admitted that he had no way to confirm whether the media reports regarding Biden’s permission granted to Kiev were true. However, he suggested that ATACMS strikes on Bryansk Region were a “clear sign that they want escalation.”
The minister noted that it is impossible to use the technologically complex ATACMS launchers without the help of the US, and recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin’s prior warning that Moscow would be forced to change its position if Ukraine received permission to use Western long-range weapons against Russian territory.
READ MORE: Kiev fires ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk Region – MOD
