(AFP) – The United States responded Friday to a Russian warning against arming Ukraine by offering a further $400 million in security assistance, as President Joe Biden hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a show of unity against Moscow.
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group meanwhile said its forces had “practically encircled” the eastern Ukraine city of Bakhmut, which has seen the fiercest fighting of Moscow’s invasion.
Western military aid for Ukraine has been key to Kyiv’s ability to hold out against Moscow’s military onslaught and to even regain ground, but the Kremlin said such assistance will only “prolong the conflict and have sad consequences for the Ukrainian people.”
Arms deliveries “place a significant burden on the economies of these countries and negatively affect the well-being of citizens of these countries, including Germany,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Washington ignored that warning, announcing the new security…
