From: slider@anashram.com   
      
   Russia has said that if the United States confirms reports it plans to   
   deliver sophisticated air defense missiles to Ukraine, it would be   
   “another provocative move” that could prompt a response.   
      
   Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a weekly briefing Thursday   
   that “the US has effectively become a party” to the war in Ukraine,   
   following reports that it will provide Kyiv with Patriot surface-to-air   
   missiles, the most advanced the West has yet provided to help Ukraine’s   
   military repel Russian aerial attacks.   
      
   Ms Zakharova added that growing amounts of US military assistance,   
   including the transfer of such sophisticated weapons, “would mean even   
   broader involvement of military personnel in the hostilities and could   
   entail possible consequences.” She did not specify what the consequences   
   might be.   
      
   US officials said Tuesday that Washington was poised to approve sending a   
   Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request   
    from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down   
   incoming Russian missiles that have crippled much of the country’s vital   
   infrastructure. An official announcement is expected soon.   
      
   A Patriot battery can need as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain   
   it, and for months the US was reluctant to provide the complex system   
   because sending forces into Ukraine to operate it is a non-starter for the   
   administration of President Joe Biden.   
      
   Yet concerns remain that even without the presence of US servicemen to   
   train Ukrainians on how to use the system, deployment of the missiles   
   could provoke Russia or risk that a fired projectile could end up hitting   
   inside Russia, further escalating the conflict.   
      
   Even before reports emerged on the delivery of Patriot systems, Dmitry   
   Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council which is chaired by   
   president Vladimir Putin, warned that if Patriots enter Ukraine “along   
   with NATO personnel, they will immediately become a legitimate target for   
   our armed forces”.   
      
   Asked Wednesday whether the Kremlin backs that threat, spokesman Dmitry   
   Peskov answered “yes”, but added in a conference call with reporters that   
   he would refrain from more detailed comment until the US officially   
   announces the Patriot delivery to Ukraine.   
      
   https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/russia-consequences-us-mis   
   iles-ukraine-war-b1047554.html   
      
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