Latest Ukraine News: Russia Warns U.S. Over Supply Of Weapons To Ukraine 

Russia has threatened to attack western arms convoys en route to Ukraine, implying that such convoys could be considered “legitimate targets.”

“We warned the United States that pumping Ukraine with weapons from a number of countries orchestrated by them is not just a dangerous move, but these are actions that turn the corresponding convoys into legitimate targets,”

iexclusivenews reports that according to Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov remarked on state-run Channel One.

The warning has the potential to worsen the situation in Ukraine.

Some context: Ryabkov’s comments came as the U.S. directed $200 million in defense aid and services, including military education and training, for Ukraine.

Aid includes small arms: A U.S. administration official said the $200 million will provide

 “immediate military assistance to Ukraine” and will include “anti-armor, anti-aircraft systems, and small arms in support of Ukraine’s front-line defenders facing down Russia’s unprovoked attack.”

Here’s What We Know

President Joe Biden directed the drawdown using a memorandum that allows him to authorize assistance without legislative authority or budgetary appropriations.

A White House official said the total amount of security assistance provided to Ukraine by the US is $1.2 billion in the past year.

More military equipment needed in Ukraine: On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with allies for more aid, saying

“The evil which purposefully targets peaceful cities and ambulance vans and explodes hospitals will not stop with just one country.”

He has repeatedly called for a no-fly zone to be imposed to stop Russian aircraft and for military planes to be sent to Ukraine.

US reluctant to escalate further: The US is concerned that more direct measures could escalate tensions with nuclear powered Russia even further and risk dragging NATO directly into the war.

The US and other NATO members have so far provided Ukraine with about 17,000 anti-tank missiles and 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, according to a senior US official.

New Mayor Installed In Russia-Controlled Melitopol After Kidnapping. 

A new mayor has been installed in the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, which is under Russian military control, after the elected mayor was kidnapped on Friday, according to the Zaporozhye regional administration.

Here’s What We Know About The Situation In The City:

Melitopol is a city in southern Ukraine that lies between the besieged city of Mariupol and the now Russian-occupied city of Kherson.

Russian forces occupied Melitopol within days of the invasion beginning, but the city has seen sporadic protests since.

On Friday, Melitopol mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was seen on video being led away from a government building in the city by armed men.

A short time later, the Russian-backed Luhansk regional prosecutor claimed that Fedorov had committed terrorism offenses and was under investigation.

According to a message on the Luhansk prosecutor’s website, Fedorov is being accused of assisting and financing terrorist activities and being part of a criminal community.

Fedorov’s detention by the armed men is the first known instance of a Ukrainian political official being detained by Russian, or Russian-backed forces, since the invasion began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded his immediate release, saying it was

“crime against democracy” and Russia has “switched to a new stage of terror” in its invasion by “trying to physically eliminate representatives of the legitimate local Ukrainian authorities.”

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Fedorov’s detention an “abduction” and a “war crime.”

Hundreds of people protested the kidnapping outside Melitopol’s city hall, with the crowd chanting “Freedom for the Mayor.”

On Saturday, the Zaporozhye regional administration installed a new mayor, Galina Danilchenko, a former member of the city council.

In her televised statement, which was posted by the regional administration on Telegram, Danilchenko said that her “main task is to take all necessary steps to get the city back to normal.”

(CNN)