Russia: West’s military support cannot change Ukraine war 'outcome'

The Western military support for Ukraine would not change the outcome of the conflict but it will only prolong hostilities, Russia’s defense chief has said, hours after drone attacks on Kiev and Moscow.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that the West is “stepping up” arms supplies to Ukraine.

"The military support for Ukraine will only protract military actions, but it cannot affect the outcome of the special military operation," Russia's state news agency TASS quoted him as saying.

He also accused Kiev of carrying out “terrorist” acts against Russian citizens with the use of weapons provided by NATO.

His remarks came shortly after Moscow was hit by drone strikes. The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses had downed all eight of the drones.

Shoigu blamed Kiev for the attack, saying, "This morning, the Kyiv regime carried out a terrorist attack in the Moscow region. On civilian targets, I note."

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian presidential aide denied Kyiv was directly involved in Tuesday's attack but said Ukraine was enjoying watching events and forecast more to come.

Moscow, Kiev targeted by drone strikes as fighting intensifies

Both Ukraine and Russia reported on Tuesday morning that their capitals have been targeted by drones coming from the other side.

In Kiev, Ukrainian officials claimed that “massive” Russian drone raids on the capital killed one person and injured four more but later explained that the casualties resulted from “falling debris” of shot-down drones.

They also claimed that their forces shot down 20 Russian drones over the capital city, blaming "falling debris" for setting ablaze the high-rise residential building that killed one, wounded at least four, and forced the evacuation of 20 residents.

Since the start of the war, the US and its Western allies have been providing Kiev with military equipment worth tens of billions of dollars. The supplied arms include rocket systems, drones, tanks and armored vehicles and communication systems as reports also indicate a probable supply of F-16 fighter jets. 

Long-range attack drones have been also added to the list of Western weapons supplied to the Ukrainian forces fighting against Russian troops.

Kiev has lately used Britain’s Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to hit Russian supply depots and command posts as well as civilian targets in the frontline in Russian-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, according to Moscow.

Russia has repeatedly said that the collective Western nations are engaged in a proxy war with Russia over Ukraine, warning that the conflict could escalate into a much bigger fight.

Moscow also insists that Western nations must refrain from the direct military confrontation between the US-led NATO forces and Russian troops.

Meanwhile, Shoigu noted that were tracking Western arms supplies to Ukraine and are launching strikes against them.

“They [the Western countries] are increasing supplies of equipment and weapons to Ukraine. We are monitoring the volume and routes of the supplies, and when we detect them, we strike them,” he said.

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