Russia Warns The US That Weapons Shipments Could Become 'Legitimate Targets' If They Continue

Russia has said that convoys transporting weapons from western countries into Ukraine could become 'legitimate targets,' sparking fears of a wider escalation.

During an appearance on state television Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said the international community had been warned 'about the consequences of the thoughtless transfer to Ukraine of weapons like man-portable air defence systems, anti-tank missiles and so on.'

'We warned the United States that the orchestrated pumping of weapons from a number of countries is not just a dangerous move, it is a move that turns these convoys into legitimate targets,' he said.

Weapons shipments bound for Ukraine (Alamy)

The message is the most overt threat yet that Russia could try to attack vehicles carrying western arms shipments to Ukrainian cities - an act that some have warned could draw the country into a wider conflict with NATO.

It comes as NATO and the European Union continue to send masses of weapons and aid into Ukraine, including shipments of anti-tank missiles and smaller weapons which have been deployed to significant effect on the battlefield.

However the alliance has refused to take further action in Ukraine, including resisting calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to implement a no fly zone or to send his country fighter jets, claiming that to do so could lead to a severe escalation.

In a tweet last night, President Joe Biden said that a 'direct confrontation' between Russia and NATO would start 'World War III,' and stressed that the US 'will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine.'

I want to be clear: We will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full might of a united and galvanized NATO.

But we will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine.

A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III. And something we must strive to prevent.

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 11, 2022

The majority of western weapons sent to Ukraine are understood to be flown to airbases in Poland near the border, before being transported by vehicles into Ukraine itself.

Speaking before Russia's deputy foreign minister made his threat, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that any attack on arms shipments within NATO would trigger Article 5 - the guarantee of collective defence - but stressed that supply lines within Ukraine were a different matter, CBC reports.

'There is a war going on in Ukraine, and of course, supply lines in Ukraine can be attacked,' he said, while cautioning that any attacks that took place outside of Ukraine's borders would risk a 'dangerous escalation of war.'

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