Russian Deputy Foreign Minister accused the US of escalating tensions by providing more weapons to Ukraine, but affirmed that Moscow still maintains the exchange channel.
“The current US administration must stop this spiral of escalation. They must do so otherwise the situation will become very dangerous for everyone, including the US,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said today. .
Mr. Ryabkov’s comments were made 6 days after Russia launched a medium-range ballistic missile carrying a non-nuclear hypersonic warhead Oreshnik, one of Moscow’s newest weapons, into Ukraine. The Russian Deputy Minister described this as a clear message that Moscow sent to the West.
“The clear signal is stop. You should not give Kiev everything it wants, you should not encourage it to undertake new military adventures. They are too dangerous,” he said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence, on the outskirts of Moscow in October 2023. Image: Reuters
President Vladimir Putin said the Oreshnik missile launch on November 21 was a response to Ukraine’s use of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles donated by the US and its allies to attack Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s Oreshnik missile launch, with an estimated speed of up to 13,600 km/h, was a “clear and serious escalation” in the conflict. However, the US military said this missile is only a test version.
The Kremlin emphasized that Russia had no obligation to inform the US about the Oreshnik launch because this was a medium-range missile, not an intercontinental one. However, Moscow still notified Washington 30 minutes before launch.
“I’m sure you understand that this is an effort to maintain stability while we face an extremely dangerous situation today. We are committed to continuing to maintain the channel of exchange and hope the US will do the same . We hope such moves will help minimize risks from miscalculations,” Mr. Ryabkov said.
President Putin on November 19 signed a new nuclear doctrine, which lowers the threshold for activating this destructive weapon. The doctrine affirms that Russia considers nuclear weapons to be only defensive, their use is a “mandatory and final measure” to protect sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, this move still makes many people fear the risk of a nuclear confrontation.