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Russian troops near Ukraine’s border just reaction to West’s arms supplies to Kiev — envoy

Numerous Ukrainian tactical drills are also being carried out near the border, Sergey Nechaev noted

BERLIN, January 20. /TASS/. The deployment of Russian troops close to the Ukrainian border has been Moscow’s response to Western arms deliveries to Kiev, Russian Ambassador to Berlin Sergey Nechaev said on Thursday.

"We are reacting to the fact that our Western negotiating partners are flooding Ukraine with weapons," the Russian envoy said. In addition, he pointed out that this is Russia’s "absolute right". "This is not a threat, this is a normal situation," the diplomat maintained. Numerous Ukrainian tactical drills are also being carried out near the border. Futhermore, NATO has been stationing its missile systems in Romania and Poland that pose a threat to Moscow.

"These weapons are construed by the West as defensive, but they can be turned into offensive ones very quickly," Nechaev stressed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly clarified that it takes only a few minutes for these missiles to reach the most important centers of Russia.

Earlier on Tuesday, Focus, a Ukrainian magazine, reported that London sent three airplanes loaded up with weapons to Ukraine following British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s announcement of such supplies. In addition, the planes are expected to ship the NLAW light anti-tank systems. Prior to that, Wallace stated that the UK had provided Kiev with a new aid package which should beef up Ukraine’s defense potential. According to Wallace, the package includes light anti-tank weapons due to the alleged concentration of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.