Kiev says no US weapons transferred to Russian paramilitaries

A representative of the Ukrainian intelligence services affirmed that Kiev has not delivered a single piece of US weaponry to Russian paramilitary groups that carried out an incursion into the Russian province of Belgorod from Ukrainian territory last Monday.

"No weapons units provided by the American allies have been transferred to the Russian Volunteer Corps," Andriy Chernyak told Radio Liberty.

This possibility had caused unease in Washington after images emerged of Russian volunteers apparently driving US-made military vehicles of the Humvee and MaxxPro types.

"Of course we don't want any American-made equipment to be used to attack Russian soil," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said yesterday.

Chernyak said on Saturday that there are "very precise control mechanisms" for weapons transferred by allies, which he said are for the exclusive use of the regular forces of the Ukrainian army, and that the countries that have donated the weapons carry out inspections to ensure that these conditions are met.

However, the GUR officer did not deny that the vehicles used by the two Russian anti-government militias were of US origin.

Chernyak said they were taken by the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom for Russia Legion from regular Russian forces, which in turn "had captured them near Bakhmut or elsewhere as a result of combat operations".

The two militias announced on Wednesday that they had managed to penetrate 42 kilometres into Russian territory and that their operations - which are supposed to be entirely independent of Kiev, though approved by it - are still continuing.