Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has warned the US that there will be consequences of sending weapons to Ukraine as the country fights President Vladimir Putin’s troops. The Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported the Foreign Minister made these remarks on the state-run Channel One. 

He said that convoys with foreign weapons were legitimate targets. Ryabkov explained, “We warned the United States that pumping Ukraine with weapons from a number of countries orchestrated by them is not just a dangerous move, but these are actions that turn the corresponding convoys into legitimate targets”. 

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This warning comes as the US has already clamped down on the possibility of sending MiGs to Ukraine. The Joe Biden government has maintained the stance that Ukraine has adequate airpower to take on the Russians. Their statements have come even as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has put in repeated requests for a no-fly zone to be imposed over the nation, or for more planes to be provided to protect the nation’s skies, as the country faces Russian shelling, often targeting civilians.

The US has been careful throughout to avoid any possibility of a conflict with Russia. President Biden has said on numerous occasions that US troops would not directly engage with Russians, but only maintain the territorial boundaries of NATO countries. Thus, the US had turned down Zelensky’s request for a no-fly zone, saying that it would require them to shoot down Russian aeroplanes. 

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At that time too, Russia had warned that any country imposing the no-fly zone would be seen as a direct participant in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. 

While Russia continues to try and deprive Ukraine of weapons and military support, they have allowed mercenaries from Syria to join the war in Ukraine. Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the nation’s civil war.