Putin warns against weapons supplies

MOSCOW/KYIV－Moscow will "draw appropriate conclusions" and hit new targets if Washington delivers long-range missiles to Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday, as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to meet frontline troops in the country's east.

"If they are handed over (to Kyiv), we will draw appropriate conclusions, and deploy our weapons to strike at the targets we haven't hit before," Putin told the Rossiya-1 television channel.

Because "the Ukrainian army is armed with similar systems", the transfer of such weapons to Kyiv does not change anything, but will only prolong the conflict, Putin added.

Defying warnings from Moscow, Britain said on Monday it will mirror the United States and send long-range missile systems to Ukraine.

The UK Ministry of Defence said London had coordinated closely with Washington over its gift of the multiple-launch rocket systems, known as MLRS, to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.

The M270 launchers, which can strike targets up to 80 kilometers away with precision-guided rockets, will "offer a significant boost in capability for the Ukrainian forces", the ministry added.

The US last week announced it would give Kyiv its high-mobility artillery rocket system, known as HIMARS, which can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles and is superior in range and precision to existing systems Ukraine has.

However, US President Joe Biden has ruled out supplying it with systems that could reach as far as Russia, despite Kyiv's repeated demands for them.

But in unveiling the latest UK contribution, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace insisted Ukraine's Western allies must maintain their weapons deliveries to enable it to "win".

London has so far offered more than $937 million in military support to Ukraine, including sending air defense systems, thousands of anti-tank missiles and various types of munitions, hundreds of armored vehicles and other equipment.

Danger of destabilization

Sunday's warning is not new. In telephone conversations with European leaders on May 28, Putin had already pointed out that the supply of weapons would further destabilize the situation and worsen the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

In developments on the battlefield, Zelensky met troops on the front lines in Donbas on Sunday as heavy fighting raged in the eastern industrial region that Moscow has focused its forces on taking.

Zelensky visited command posts and front-line positions in Lysychansk, which sits across the Siverskyi Donets river from Severodonetsk.

In Severodonetsk, a new focus of the battle, Ukraine said on Monday its position "worsened a little" in the city one day after its forces "controlled half of the city".

Ukrainian forces had been trying to hold their ground after saying they had retaken half of the embattled city in Lugansk, where Russian forces have concentrated their assault on Ukraine's eastern Donbas heartland.

"The fiercest fighting is in Severodonetsk. Fast-moving fighting is happening right now," Lugansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai told national television.

On Sunday, he told local media that "half of the city is actually controlled" by Ukrainian forces.

Severodonetsk is the largest city still in Ukrainian hands in the Lugansk region, which is part of the Donbas. Russian forces have been gradually advancing there in recent weeks after having retreated or been pushed back from other areas, including around the capital Kyiv.

In another development, Russian forces have destroyed T-72 tanks and other armored vehicles supplied by Eastern European countries near Kyiv, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday.

"High-precision, long-range air-based missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed T-72 tanks and other armored vehicles, which were housed in the buildings of an auto repair facility on the outskirts of Kyiv," Konashenkov told a briefing.

According to earlier reports, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said at least one person was injured in rocket strikes on Ukraine's capital on Sunday morning.

Agencies - Xinhua