MOSCOW, July 16 Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking about US deliveries of cluster munitions to Kiev, said that they do this not from a good life, but because they have a shortage of ammunition, journalist Pavel Zarubin posted the footage on his Telegram channel.
“They do it not from a good life, but because they have a shortage of ammunition in general,” Putin said.
He recalled that «the Ukrainian army spends up to 5-6 thousand, say, 155-caliber shells per day of hostilities, while the United States produces 15 thousand per month.» «They don't have enough, and Europe already doesn't have enough. But they didn't find anything better than to propose the use of cluster munitions,» Putin said.
US President Joe Biden announced on July 7 his decision to begin deliveries of cluster munitions to the Kyiv regime. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stressed that such supplies endanger civilians and are aimed at prolonging the crisis. On Thursday, Joint Staff Operations Director General Douglas Sims told a Pentagon briefing that Ukraine received cluster munitions not only from the United States, but also from other countries.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the Russian military, have already used cluster munitions for shelling Donbass, in particular Donetsk. According to the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, this suggests that the task of the Ukrainian troops is to kill the maximum number of civilians.
Russia sent a note to NATO countries because of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation stated that the NATO countries are «playing with fire» by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Lavrov noted that the US and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, «including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel … on the territory of Great Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.» Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that pumping Ukraine with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.