MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Shipments of Western weapons to Ukraine is complicating the situation and makes weapons convoys legitimate targets for the Russian forces, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Channel One television on Saturday.

"We have warned the US that the US-orchestrated inundation of Ukraine with weapons from some countries is not just a dangerous move, but also an action that makes these convoys legitimate targets," he said.

In this context, Ryabkov outlined the consequences that may arise from the "thoughtless transfer" to Kiev of such weapons as man-portable air defense systems and anti-tank missile systems. "All this is not perceived as serious signals," he continued. "The escalatory component of Washington’s policy absolutely dominates, despite all the incantations that they are extremely responsible people and weigh every step they make."

"It’s the US that is the source of the maximum escalation tension on international platforms," Ryabkov went on to say. "Never mind what they are doing in material terms supporting the criminal Kiev regime."

On February 24 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Afterward, the US, EU, UK and some other countries said they would impose sanctions on Russian individuals and legal entities.