Private military companies from the United States are preparing provocations using chemical weapons in the Donbas, said the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu at the board meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry.

According to him, 120 employees of American PMCs arrived in the region and are training Ukrainian special forces soldiers.

"Tanks with unidentified chemical components were delivered to the towns of Avdiivka and Krasny Liman to carry out provocations," RIA Novosti quoted Shoygu …

Lithuania called on NATO to deploy troops to Russia's borders, amid continued deployment of Russian troops near Ukrainian borders. "NATO must respond not only by deploying its troops to the eastern front, but also by strengthening its military potential. Strengthening the military potential is good, but we should have an algorithm, what to do in the case of scenario A, scenario B, scenario C," said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda at a joint press conference with the presidents of Ukraine …

Russia will give a military-technical response to the West if it continues its policy of aggressive behavior, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a board meeting of the Defense Ministry.

According to him, Moscow "has every right" to ensure its security and sovereignty amid the threat of NATO’s expanding military infrastructure, which, if deployed to Ukraine, will reduce the time the enemy missiles can reach Moscow to 7-10 minutes.

"What is happening now, the tension that is developing in …

Lithuania is ready to send lethal weapons to Ukraine to support the country in the face of a large buildup of Russian troops near its borders, said Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas at a joint press conference with German Minister of Defense Kristin Lambrecht.

"It is necessary to support Ukraine in every possible way, and Lithuania is ready for this, in particular, to send lethal weapons to Ukraine," the Lithuanian minister said.

He did not specify which weapons …

The US will provide Ukraine with more military equipment and weapons if Russia launches a full-scale military offensive, said US Charge d'affaires in Ukraine Christine Queen in an interview with Suspilne TV channel.

Queen noted that military assistance will also be sent to NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

"If Russia takes unacceptable action against Ukraine, we will also supply Ukraine with more equipment and weapons. Finally, we will ensure that our NATO allies bordering Ukraine are fully …

Russia demands an immediate response from Washington regarding an agreement on "security guarantees", said the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov

According to him, the United States is trying to convert this demand "into a slow-moving process."

"We need this urgently, because the situation is very difficult, it is acute, it’s becoming more complex," Ryabkov emphasized.

He added that Moscow is ready to immediately begin negotiations with the United States and NATO.

The Kremlin …

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, President pf Poland Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda signed a declaration in support of Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO.

"The common declaration enshrines clear support for Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO and the fight against Russian aggression," said Zelensky after the summit of the Lublin Triangle in Stara Huta, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

He added that the leaders of the Lublin Triangle coordinated steps to support …

Russia will take measures to "balance" the situation if NATO deploys nuclear weapons near the country's borders, said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"It's not a secret that, of course, the deployment of various types of [NATO] weapons near our borders, which may pose a danger to us, will require taking appropriate steps,” said Peskov in response to a question about the possibility of deploying Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus. According to him, in such a situation, "a variety …