Russia warns that Moscow now considers arms shipments to Ukraine as ‘legitimate targets’, Russian forces shelled mosque in Mariupol
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A senior Russian diplomat has warned that from now on Moscow will consider arms shipments to Ukraine as “legitimate targets”.
The comments by the deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, reported by Sky News and BuzzFeed News, are likely to raise fears over a potential escalation in the conflict in Ukraine.
Ryabkov said that Russia had made its position clear to the US.
He said that Russia “warned the US that pumping weapons from a number of countries it orchestrates isn’t just a dangerous move, it’s an action that makes those convoys legitimate targets”.
Denouncing US sanctions against Moscow, he said they were an “unprecedented attempt to deal a serious blow to various sectors of the Russian economy”.
But he insisted that Russia did not intend to expel western media and businesses, adding: “We aren’t going to escalate the situation.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that Russia was sending new forces to Ukraine after suffering what he said were its biggest losses in decades.
Zelenskiy also said he had spoken to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about pressuring Russia to release the mayor of the city of Melitopol, who Ukraine says was kidnapped on Friday by Russian forces.
In a televised address, Zelenskiy urged Russia to uphold an agreed ceasefire to allow evacuations to proceed from the besieged port city of Mariupol, after blaming Moscow for the failure of previous attempts.
Russian forces have shelled a mosque in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where more than 80 adults and children, including Turkish citizens, have taken refuge, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.
Ukraine has accused Russia of refusing to allow people out of Mariupol, where a blockade has left hundreds of thousands trapped. Russia blames Ukraine for the failure to evacuate people.
#Mariupol 🇺🇦 Tam şu anda 🇷🇺 ordusu Kanuni Sultan Süleyman ve Hürrem Sultan anısına yapılmış Muhteşem Cami’yi bombalıyor. Camide Türk vatandaşları dahil birçok yetişkin ve çocuk bombardımandan saklanıyor. pic.twitter.com/rwAuDZ63k1
“The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) in Mariupol was shelled by Russian invaders,” the foreign ministry said in a tweet. “More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey.”
It did not say if there were any people killed or wounded.
Moscow has denied targeting civilian areas in what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine.
Photo – Image issued by Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
