A senior official in the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), confirmed today, Friday, that Russia’s threats to NATO countries are serious, stressing that the alliance countries deal with it on this basis.
He said that Russia is still planning to overthrow the government in Kyiv, stressing that Ukraine wants urgent aid to defend Donbass.
4 additional missile systems
He revealed that the new military aid package to Ukraine amounts to $400 million, and includes 4 HIMARS missile systems.
He also revealed that Ukraine now possesses 12 HIMARs missile systems, denying reports of the destruction of HIMARs missiles.
slow and costly progress
He said that Russian forces are making slow and costly progress in Donbass, pointing out that Russia is behind schedule for military operations.
He pointed out that relations with the Middle East are solid, “and are not affected by what is happening in Ukraine.”
Putin’s threat to NATO
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will respond in kind if NATO establishes infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the US-led military alliance.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin a week ago as saying that he did not rule out that Moscow’s relations with Helsinki and Stockholm could be strained due to their accession to NATO.