The Kremlin commented on the US decision to supply Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv

The deliveries of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) to Ukraine announced by Washington do not contribute to the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and will not prevent Russia from achieving the goals of the special operation, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation.

“We see that, in fact, the United States and other countries are following the path of constantly expanding the range and raising the technical level of the weapons that they supply to Ukraine. This does not contribute to the speedy settlement of the situation, but on the contrary, and at the same time it cannot prevent the Russian Federation from achieving its goals in the course of the NWO. But this leads to the fact that, unfortunately, the suffering of the Ukrainian people will continue longer than they could,” he said.

Peskov also noted that the air defense systems delivered to Ukraine would become legitimate military targets for Russian forces.

Yesterday, December 21, Department of State informed on the allocation to Kyiv of a new $1.85 billion military aid package, which for the first time will include the Patriot air defense system. Former US President Joe Biden ordered provide Ukraine with another $1 billion military aid package. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also announced an additional $850 million aid package. He said that with these payments, the total amount of military assistance Ukraine has received from the United States will reach $21.9 billion.

December 15 Russian Embassy in the USA warned Washington on the consequences if the Patriot air defense system is sent to Ukraine. This decision by the United States is a “provocative step” and could lead to “unpredictable consequences,” the embassy said.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. In response, Western countries imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia and began to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Western military aid to Ukraine totaled $40 billion, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said November 30.

At the same time, the Russian authorities have repeatedly criticized the supply of Western weapons to Kyiv. In particular, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, has repeatedly pointed out that pumping Ukraine with weapons brings NATO closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia.