US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States had "quietly sent a lot of weapons to Ukraine" five months before the actual conflict.
"We saw it coming," Blinken said in an interview with The New York Times, noting the United States made sure that "Ukraine was prepared" by sending it billions of dollars and weapons since September 2021.
"What we've had to look at each and every time is not only should we give this to the Ukrainians but do they know how to use it? Can they maintain it?" he added.
When asked whether it is time to end the conflict, Blinken said a cease-fire would likely give Russia a break, and that any cease-fire must ensure Ukraine can “deter further aggression,” which, he noted, could be achieved through NATO membership.
"Russia has been talking about this for many years," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Saturday in response to Blinken's remarks, which underlined the rationale behind Russia's objective on the demilitarisation of Ukraine.
"We spoke about the U.S. and Britain pouring weapons into Ukraine, the endless NATO exercises in the Black Sea, which violate Russia's borders, and the perilous proximity of Western military aircraft to civilian airliners in our airspace," she added.
The Kremlin has frequently condemned Western weapons supplies to Ukraine, saying these exacerbate the conflict, prevent peace efforts, and drag in NATO members with direct involvement, Xinhua news agency said.
The US Department of State said Monday that the United States has so far provided $61.4 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the conflict, and it "approved" its NATO allies to deliver 12,000 anti-armour systems of all types, over 1,550 anti-air missiles, radars, night vision devices, machine guns, rifles, and ammunition, and body armor.
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