MOSCOW, July 20. /TASS/. US threats strengthen Russia’s determination to follow the outlined course in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel, commenting on a warning from the US that any accession of Ukrainian regions to Russia risks new sanctions.

"The White House is wrong, for the US has been imposing `new sanctions’ regardless of whether Ukrainian regions join Russia or not. So, their latest threat has missed its goal. The opposite is true - it has strengthened our resolve to follow the set course," she remarked.

On Tuesday, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House’s National Security Council John Kirby asserted that the US administration was not going to recognize the territories it considered Ukrainian as part of Russia and would be ready to introduce new sanctions against Moscow should the situation develop in that direction.