Newsletters
Russia's Foreign Ministry has requested clarifications from Washington and Ankara following the disclosure by the US Congress of information suggesting the United States and Türkiye may transfer American-made weapons currently held by the Turkish army to Ukraine, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday.
"The Russian Foreign Ministry has requested clarifications in Washington and Ankara in connection with the information disclosed by the US Congress," Zakharova said in a written response to a media inquiry published on the ministry's website.
Zakharova argued that any such deliveries would be unable to "seriously affect the development of the special military operation along a just Russian scenario," using Moscow's official designation for its military campaign in Ukraine. She said the consequences of the transfer would extend beyond the battlefield.
"It is not only about the casualties and destruction that the authorities in Kyiv seek to scale up, but also about serious damage to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara," she said, adding that "multifaceted damage from such supplies is inevitable."
She also questioned the transparency of the process, saying the circumstances of the transfer "remain highly contradictory" and that it was unclear who had initiated the re-export or how and when the shipment would reach its recipients in Kyiv.
Zakharova said that, according to documents recently made public by the US Congress, the potential shipment includes offensive weapons systems. She specified twelve multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers along with more than 2,500 unguided cluster munitions for them, 47,000 cluster artillery shells of 203-millimeter caliber, and 70 ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles.
MLRS launchers and ATACMS missiles are US-produced systems that have previously been supplied to Ukraine by Washington directly; ATACMS has a range exceeding 300 kilometers.
Separately, Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti reported that, per official US congressional documents, the State Department had notified lawmakers of a proposed transfer of American weapons systems held by Türkiye, including MLRS launchers and ATACMS missiles, to Ukraine.
According to the same documents, the transfer would be carried out through private Turkish companies MKE, ASFAT and ARCA Savunma, the Bulgarian private company VTIC International Ltd., and American private firms Pansophico and Patriot Defense Group.
Zakharova said Washington and Türkiye are both countries that have claimed a special role in resolving the Ukraine conflict and have stated a priority on reaching a political and diplomatic solution.
She said combining that rhetoric with continued arms supplies "inevitably undermines mutual trust," pointing in particular to repeated assurances from Turkish officials that Ankara avoids "lethal" deliveries to Kyiv.
In a further comment carried by RIA Novosti, Zakharova said it was unclear what had motivated the US and Turkish governments to "open another Pandora's box" that would prolong the conflict and, in her words, the "agony of the Kyiv regime," resulting in additional loss of life.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
2 min read
1 min read
