Aides to the President of Ukraine put pressure on the US and Belgium to want to suspend sanctions on Russia

“The decision on sending those multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) will be coming soon, and we’ll see if they deliver them to us. Ukraine or not. If they don’t, then we will be angry,” RT news agency quoted Arestovich as saying today (May 31).

Mr. Arestovich’s statement was made in the context of US President Joe Biden’s previous statement on May 30 that the country would no aid to Ukraine with long-range MLRS systems capable of attacking Russian territory.

However, Mr. Arestovich said that Biden’s statement seemed to refer only to long-range missiles, not to rule out the possibility that the US could send MLRS systems to Ukraine. “The range of 70km is more than enough for us,” Arestovich said.

According to RT news agency, Ukraine’s arsenal has a lot of rocket launcher systems manufactured under the Soviet Union. However, Kiev government officials have repeatedly stated that similar systems from the US will give Ukraine an advantage on the battlefield.

Belgium wants to suspend sanctions against Russia

According to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, he personally “welcomes” the consensus of the European Union (EU) on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. However, he wants the bloc to pause to assess the impact of existing sanctions.

“The impact of the Russian oil ban will be huge, and a pause is necessary. For Belgium, this package of sanctions is a big step forward, so let’s pause here and watch its effects. In my opinion, the priority right now is to find a way to keep energy prices under control,” RT news agency quoted De Croo as saying today (May 31).

Meanwhile, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on the EU to discuss a gas ban as part of a seventh package of sanctions against Russia. “I think the gas ban should be part of the seventh package of sanctions, but I am also a realist. So I don’t think there will be such a ban,” Kallas said.

Russia warns of terrorist threat posed by weapons aid to Ukraine

“The threat of terrorism is growing in Ukraine as a result of foreign weapons supplies. The pumping of various weapons to Ukraine, the training of nationalist fighters as well as the recruitment of mercenaries continues today,” Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev told TASS news agency today. 31/5).

“The lethal weapons that have been given to Ukraine by foreign aid have increased the threat of terrorism, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, as well as the suffering of the people. We need to remember how US-made weapons hurt the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria,” added Patrushev.

Tuan Tran