Kremlin: U.S. plan to sell armed drones to Ukraine does not affect military operation

Record ID: 1675308

  • Title: Kremlin: U.S. plan to sell armed drones to Ukraine does not affect military operation
  • Date: 2nd June 2022
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MAY 30, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF KREMLIN VIEWS
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2022 12:36
  • Keywords: Kremlin Peskov Russia Ukraine briefing
  • Location: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION / MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • City: UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION / MOSCOW, RUSSIA
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA007231002062022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Kremlin said on Thursday (June 2) that U.S. plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use would not change the parameters of what Russia calls its special military operation.
    Reuters reported on the Biden administration's plans to sell the drones on Wednesday. The transaction could still be blocked by Congress or derailed by a last-minute policy reversal.
    "Pumping (Western) weapons into Ukraine does not change all the parameters of the special operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "Its goals will be achieved, but this will bring more suffering to Ukraine ..."
    Of the possibility that Russian territory could be targeted from Ukraine with the new weapons, Peskov said: "I still do not want to talk about absolutely undesirable and very unpleasant scenarios in which these weapons could hypothetically be used against targets on our territory.
    "This would significantly shift the situation towards an unfavourable direction," he added.
    Russia has tried to intercept and destroy Western weapons supplies to Ukraine since it sent troops into its neighbour on Feb. 24.
    Moscow says Western arms deliveries for Kyiv and sanctions against the Russian economy amount to a "proxy war" by the United States and its allies.
    Peskov also said that Russia would not sell its oil at a loss. Peskov noted in a conference call with reporters that oil flows get redirected as demand falls and increases in different places.
    He also confirmed a Reuters report that Valentin Yumashev, the son-in-law of former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, had quit his role as an unpaid advisor to President Vladimir Putin.
    "I can confirm that about a month ago he stopped being an advisor on a voluntary basis", Peskov told reporters.
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