MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Moscow is picking up signals that Kiev has no intention of using US-supplied Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) against targets on Russian soil, but it will link them to the real state of affairs, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Wednesday.

"I would rather not comment on something, which is mostly secondary. The question is not about the range of any system or anybody’s intentions," he said, when asked to comment on Ukraine’s assurances that it would not use American MLRS to strike targets on the territory of Russia.

"We are certainly picking up all of these signals, but we are linking them to what is going on in reality," Ryabkov stated. "In reality, Kiev is still being flooded with uninterrupted and perpetual supplies of the newest weapons systems."

He added that such steps on behalf of Washington are aimed at "delaying the moment," when Russia announces that it will have reached the set objectives of its special military operation in Ukraine, and they will be attained despite the measures undertaken by the United States.

"They [the set objectives] will be eventually reached, no matter what steps are taken on behalf of the United States, or their satellites and clients," the diplomat noted.

A high-ranking official in the Biden administration stated earlier in the week that the United States would announce on Wednesday the delivery of its 11th package of military aid to Ukraine, which is set to include multiple launch rocket systems, namely HIMAR (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems).

The official added that the striking range of the supplied HIMAR systems, mounted on a wheeled chassis, would not exceed 80 kilometers (up to 50 miles). According to him, Ukraine reassured Washington that it would not be using US-supplied MLRS for striking targets on the territory of Russia.

Russia’s military operation in Donbass

The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. Back then, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardment by the Ukrainian military in months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and inflicted casualties upon the population.

On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions stipulating the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.