Russia says the West's intention is to destroy Ukraine

“I would like to draw attention to the main issue: To this day there is no doubt that what is being discussed here is the clear intention of the West, led by the United States and Great Britain, simply to completely destroy Ukraine. All the talk about how they see Ukraine's prosperity in the future has ended after the announcement of the intention to supply Kiev with depleted uranium munitions,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Field photo in Ukraine. Photo: Getty Images

"I'm not sure that the UK is fully aware of the consequences of using these weapons. Those who will suffer from them will not only those who are in the affected areas at this historical moment, but also future generations who will live on those lands... Even those who use these weapons (containing depleted uranium) will suffer," Zakharova said.

Sharing the same view, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the West - and especially the US - is trying its best to prevent Kiev from entering into any negotiations with Moscow.

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder announced that the US military will speed up the delivery of M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukrainian forces, opting to send an older model after realizing that the latest version could take more than a year to reach the battlefield. According to Mr. Ryder, the M1A1 version has many similar elements to the M1A2, including advanced weapons and armor systems./.