Russia has reiterated its threat to target arms shipments to Ukraine, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying Friday that any cargo believed to be carrying weapons are “fair game” while vowing to block the transfer of Soviet-era S-300 air defense systems to Kyiv.
“Any cargo moving into Ukrainian territory which we would believe is carrying weapons would be fair game,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russia Today.
Slovakia has said that it is ready to send its S-300 system to Ukraine “immediately” provided that it receives a replacement to protect its own airspace.
“We’re willing to do so immediately when we have a proper replacement,” said Jaroslav Nad, Slovakia’s minister of defense, at a joint press conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on March 17.
The S-300 is Slovakia’s only strategic air defense system, he said, adding that handing it over to Ukraine would create a “security gap in NATO.”
Lavrov said that Moscow “will not allow” the S-300 system to be given to Ukraine, calling the transfer of the Soviet-era system “illegal.” He cited intergovernmental agreements and user certificates precluding the transfer of Soviet or Russian-made systems to third countries.
Tomasz Smura, Director of the Research Office at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, a foreign policy and security think-tank in Warsaw, told The Epoch Times in a phone interview that there often are contractual restrictions regarding the re-export of arms of the type Lavrov mentioned.
But given that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a gross violation of international law, he said, Lavrov’s attempt to paint the transfer of the S-300 system as breaking an agreement on arms exports is “simply ridiculous.”
Smura called Lavrov’s remarks a scare tactic meant to instill fear in neighboring countries looking to surge more military aid. Russia’s putting its nuclear arsenal on high alert several days after the outbreak of hostilities was a similar move, he said.
“Even before the war, Russia had repeatedly tried to scare its neighbors, either with short-range ballistic missiles or by threatening to use nuclear weapons, so this is nothing new.”
