Russia on Saturday said its troops could target supplies of Western weapons in Ukraine, where the Russian army has been advancing since late February.

"We warned the United States that the orchestrated pumping of weapons from a number of countries is not just a dangerous move, it is a move that turns these convoys into legitimate targets," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state television.

He said Moscow had warned "about the consequences of the thoughtless transfer to Ukraine of weapons like man-portable air defence systems, anti-tank missile systems and so on."

Ryabkov said Washington had not taken Moscow's warnings seriously and added that Russia and the US were not holding any "negotiation processes" on Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24 and said he aims to "de-Nazify" the country.

Moscow has been hit by a barrage of international sanctions since Putin sent in troops.

Spain to send more weapons to Ukraine
Madrid (AFP) March 11, 2022 –

The Spanish government on Friday said it would send a new shipment of weapons to Ukraine in light of the Russian invasion, without detailing what would be supplied.

Asked about the nature of the new shipment to Kyiv, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, refused to give specifics.

But he insisted it was "to help Ukraine and its army defend its independence, its sovereignty and above all to protect defenceless civilians".

"If we really want to help Ukraine… the less we speak about weapons, what type and where they're coming from, the better," he told Spain's TVE public television.

Defence Minister Margarita Robles said late Thursday Spain would send a second delivery "in the coming days".

"We have already sent a first consignment and depending on how circumstances evolve, we will send another in the next few days with one aim: so Ukraine's citizens can protect and legitimately defend themselves against this terrible invasion by Russia," she told Telecinco TV channel.

Despite the reservations of his hard-left coalition ally Podemos, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last week said Spain would send "the Ukrainian resistance offensive military hardware".

Robles later said that the hardware, which was delivered by plane to the border between Ukraine and Poland, comprised 1,370 grenade launchers, 700,000 rounds of ammunition and an unspecified number of light machine guns.

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell on Friday suggested that the bloc double its funding for military aid to Ukraine, raising it to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to help it battle Russia's invasion.

Russia's military incursion into Ukraine, now in its third week, has seen Western countries sharply increase supplies of military aid to their pro-Western ally.

But Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov has denounced the European Union and other countries for acting "dangerously" in supplying arms to Ukraine.