The US decision to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons will only fuel hostilities and raise casualties from the conflict in the country's east, Russian officials and lawmakers have warned.
The angry response from Moscow comes a day after US President Donald Trump's administration approved a plan to provide weapons to Ukraine, including Javelin anti-tank missiles. Ukraine has long sought the weapons for its fight against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 10,000 since April 2014.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says the US administration's move has "crossed a line", adding that the US can no longer claim a mediatory role.
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"Washington has sought to cast itself as a 'mediator'," he said in a statement. "It's not a mediator. It's an accomplice in fuelling a war.
"Today, the United States clearly pushes (Ukrainian authorities) towards new bloodshed," he said, adding: "American weapons can lead to new victims" in the neighbouring country."
Without mentioning the US decision, France and Germany on Saturday urged combatants to fully implement a much-violated ceasefire agreement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement urging combatants to observe the 2015 Minsk agreements aimed at de-escalating the conflict. Those provisions include the withdrawal of heavy weapons such as tanks and rocket launchers from the frontline area and an exchange of prisoners.
The two leaders also urged the return of Russian military officers to a joint co-ordination centre that plays a role in monitoring the ceasefire.
Mobilised Ukrainian soldiers shows his skills during military drills at a base in Desna 100km north from Kiev (AAP) Source: AAP
Merkel and Macron said in their statement that "there is no alternative to an exclusively peaceful solution to the conflict".
The US and its allies say Russia has been sending troops and weapons to help the rebels in eastern Ukraine. Moscow has denied the accusations, but acknowledged that Russian citizens joined the separatist forces as volunteers.
Ryabkov warned that the US move could warrant a Russian response.
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"The American weapons can lead to more victims in the neighbouring country, and we couldn't stay indifferent to that," he said.
Valentina Matviyenko, the Speaker of the upper house of Russian parliament, said in remarks carried by Tass that the US move was a "big mistake" that would "pull them into Ukraine's internal conflict".
"With lethal weapons supplies, the US gives a clear signal to Kiev that it will support a military option," Alexei Pushkov, the head of the upper house's information committee, said on Twitter.
Tensions in the east have increased in recent weeks, with a recent spike in fighting,
