Russia Warns Washington About "Blessing" Ukraine To Carry Out "Air Attacks" On Crimea

Russia: "supplying arms to Ukraine "does not change anything" and instead only "prolongs the conflict".

MOSCOW - Russia's Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that the United States should be aware that Ukrainian strikes in Crimea would be seen as an attack on "any other region" located within Russia.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was asked on CNN's State of the Union whether he thinks Crimea is part of Ukraine, to which he replied, "of course," and added, "Crimea is Ukraine. That's a very straightforward thing".

When asked if he thinks that Ukraine should have weapons capable of reaching targets within Crimea, he answered "Yes, we have not placed limitations on Ukraine being able to strike on its territory within its internationally recognized borders".

He added, "What we have said is that we will not enable Ukraine with U.S./Western systems to attack Russia, and we believe Crimea is Ukraine".

Antonov said, “I would like to warn administration officials against lightness in their judgments on Crimea, especially in terms of “blessing” the Kyiv regime for air attacks on the peninsula".

"Let me remind you that we consider strikes on this territory as an attack on any other subject of the Russian Federation. It is important that the United States fully were aware of Russia's retaliatory measures," he added.’

Antonov Addresses Possible Transfer of F-16s To Ukraine

Regarding the possible transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from NATO-allied countries, Antonov said the States "completely subordinated the G7 participants to their own line regarding the conflict in Ukraine," according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

He added that "While Washington is opposing us by proxy, by “power of attorney.”  However, every specialist knows that Ukraine lacks the infrastructure for operating the F-16, and the required number of pilots and maintenance personnel are not available either. What will happen if  American fighters start taking off from NATO airfields operated by foreign "volunteers"."

The news agency reiterated that Moscow has "repeatedly warned" Western countries that supplying arms to Ukraine "does not change anything" and instead only "prolongs the conflict".

The Russian state news agency also claimed that the United States and NATO are "already directly involved" in the "confrontation" due to the fact that they are not only supplying Ukraine with weapons but also training Ukrainian personnel.

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