London remains one of the largest donors of weaponry to Kiev, providing £7.1 billion ($8.9 billion) in assistance since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Belyaev, who heads the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second European Department, said in an interview with TASS news agency, published on Saturday.

“UK-supplied weapons are being actively used by the Ukrainian military in terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure and the civilian population of Donbass, as well as other Russian regions,” he stated.

According to the diplomat, last month’s announcement by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of a £500 million ($617 million) military aid package for Ukraine was an attempt by Britain to gain a more prominent role in NATO and among European countries.

“The British acted in a similar manner when they began deliveries of Storm Shadow cruise missiles and Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine”, becoming one of the first countries to provide Kiev with such types of hardware, he explained.

Belyaev added that Russian diplomats have repeatedly warned their British counterparts that support for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s government is “harmful” and “leads to further escalation and casualties among the civilian population.”

“London’s abandonment of its confrontational course”, including sanctions, “is a necessary condition for the restoration of bilateral political, trade and economic ties” with Moscow, he continued.

The strained relationship between Russia and Britain deteriorated further last week after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Ukraine has the “right” to use UK-provided weaponry to strike targets deep inside Russia, if it decides to do so.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador in Moscow Nigel Casey following Cameron’s remarks.

“Casey was warned that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russian territory could be any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond,” the ministry announced in a statement following the meeting.

Earlier this week, the UK announced that it would expel a Russian defense attaché, described as an “undeclared military intelligence officer”, and strip some Russia-owned properties in the country of their diplomatic status. Moscow pledged “an appropriate response”.

The new package includes Patriot air defense munitions and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which have been crucial to defending Ukraine’s skies and keeping its cities safe.

Other equipment also includes more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 155 mm and 105 mm artillery rounds, which Ukraine has desperately needed to fend off Russian attacks across the front line as Moscow has an advantage in artillery fire.

The U.S. is also providing Javelin missiles, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, M113 Armored Personnel Carriers, patrol boats and general small arms ammunition, grenades and demolition munitions.

The announcement comes after an initial $1 billion package in late April shortly after President Joe Biden signed the national security supplemental bill into law after months of Congress holding up talks on new aid for Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also announced a $6 billion package for Ukraine that will require Kyiv to purchase equipment from the defense industrial base before delivery.

The U.S. aid will be crucial to ensuring Ukrainian troops can stay in the fight as Russia intensifies pressure across the eastern frontline, making critical advances in the Donetsk region.

On Friday, Russia also launched a major attack in the northeastern Kharkiv region, putting even more pressure on Ukrainian forces.

The development was first announced by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which claimed earlier in the day that Russian forces had attacked defensive positions near the border town of Volchansk. The assault was accompanied by heavy aerial bombardment, the ministry said, adding that fighting “of varying intensity” was continuing along Russia’s border with Kharkov Region.

The claims were further amplified by Zelensky, with the president insisting that Ukrainian troops were well-prepared to repel Russian attacks in the area.

“Russia can bolster and pour in its forces, but we knew this and calculated everything,” Zelensky stated during a news conference, after a meeting with the Slovak president in Kiev.

Some Ukrainian media reports, however, have said the Russian military was able to advance and has seized several settlements along the border. Ukrainian journalist Yury Butusov, widely believed to be associated with former President Pyotr Poroshenko, claimed that Russian forces have captured an area of roughly 30 square kilometers near the border, seizing the villages of Strelechye, Krasnoye, Pylnaya and Borisovka.

Despite having intelligence on the looming assault, Ukrainian defenses in the area have proven to be ineffective, Butusov claimed. The journalist also suggested that the assault was on a relatively small scale, despite official claims to the contrary, with a force of up to five infantry battalions involved.

So far, Moscow has not provided any information on its purported activities in Kharkov Region. Over the past few months, the area has been used by Ukrainian forces to launch indiscriminate drone, artillery and missile attacks on Russian border regions, primarily Belgorod, and to stage multiple unsuccessful attempts to break through the border.

The Russian leadership has consistently warned Kiev and its Western backers against launching attacks deep into its territory, with President Vladimir Putin suggesting the creation of a “security zone” in Ukraine along the border, to prevent such strikes. Moscow has not provided any timeframe for when such a zone could be created, or how deep into Ukraine it would go.