Russia Holds Nuclear Forces Drill As Biden Unveils $700M More In Arms For Ukraine

Russia's nuclear forces have launched fresh drills northeast of Moscow, in the Ivanovo province, according to new Russian defense ministry statements Wednesday.

Reuters cited Interfax news agency to report that "Some 1,000 servicemen are exercising in intense maneuvers using over 100 vehicles including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers," based on the Russian MoD statement.

Some Western media reports are seeing the drill as a response and warning to Washington over the White House approving yet more military aid and weapons to Ukraine, particularly longer range rockets.

Newsweek, for example, writes that "The report follows the announcement that the U.S. has approved a $700m package of security assistance to be sent to Kyiv, which will include helicopters, anti-tank weapon systems and medium-range high mobility artillery rocket systems."

The Kremlin is meanwhile issuing new warnings over the US violating its stated "red lines"…

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV SAYS THERE ARE RISKS THAT A THIRD COUNTRY COULD BECOME INVOLVED IN UKRAINE CONFLICT DUE TO SUPPLIES OF ROCKET LAUNCHERS

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-holds-nuclear-forces-drill-biden-unveils-700m-more-arms-ukraine

Lavrov Accuses Ukraine Of Drawing Outside Countries Into War - US Missiles A 'Direct Provocation'

In some of the Kremlin's strongest words yet denouncing Western arms shipments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Ukraine that newly ramped up arms transfers including US missile systems being sent to Kiev risks drawing a third country into the war.

In the Wednesday statements, he accused Ukraine of seeking to involve outside countries, and slammed the missile transfer as marking a 'direct provocation'. His words come on the heels of Biden on Tuesday night announcing longer range missile systems for Ukraine, which however likely can't reach Russian territory, given they are short to "medium range" systems. Moscow previously called the White House's expressed desire to avoid direct confrontation with Russia a "rational" policy.

The blistering attack also seemed aimed a Germany, which just announced new anti-air radar and defense systems for Ukraine:

Germany will supply Ukraine with the IRIS-T modern air defence and radar systems, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, stepping up arms deliveries amid criticism that Berlin is not doing enough to help Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

“The government has decided that we will send the IRIS-T system – the most modern system that Germany currently possesses,” the German chancellor told parliament.

In separate statements on the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia "does not believe Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s claims that Kiev will not attack Russian territory, should it obtain US-made long-range multiple launch rocket systems."

Already there have been multiple cross-border incidents in which Russian towns or villages were shelled. According to TASS, Peskov said:

"No," the spokesman said, answering a question whether the Kremlin trusts Zelensky’s words. "In order to trust, there must be previous experience when such promises were fulfilled. Unfortunately, such experience is completely nonexistent," Peskov explained.

"On the contrary, the entire history of events proves that, starting with Zelensky’s main campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine’s southeast once and for all, [the promise] was not fulfilled, and the Minsk Agreements were not implemented, they sunk into oblivion, and by Ukraine’s fault at that," the spokesman pointed out.

"So we don’t really have any trust credit for the Ukrainian side," he emphasized in follow-up.

Russia is now warning of 'worst case scenarios' regarding the missile transfer…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/lavrov-accuses-ukraine-drawing-outside-countries-war-us-missiles-direct-provocation