UNITED NATIONS, October 25. /TASS/. Further arms shipments to Ukraine bring the situation closer to the dangerous threshold of a direct clash between Russia and NATO, Russian Foreign Ministry Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department Deputy Director Konstantin Vorontsov said during the UN General Assembly First Committee meeting Tuesday.

"The US increases the pumping of Ukraine with weapons, provide it with intelligence, which not only prolongs the hostilities and causes new casualties, but also brings the situation closer to the dangerous threshold of a direct military clash between Russia and NATO," he said.

"Following Washington’s lead, the military-political leadership of Ukraine started talking about not only a necessity of our country’s defeat on the battlefield, but also its consecutive dismembering and elimination. In these circumstances we were unable to ignore the will of the people of Donbass and the liberated territories of Ukraine, who face reprisal, should Kiev’s militants return," Vorontsov added.