Russia is recycling its threats as the US keeps sending Ukraine billions in military aid, warning longer-range weapons would cross a line

• Russia is again recycling its threats, warning the US against sending long-range missiles to Ukraine.
• It is again warning that the US would be crossing a "red line" if it supplied the weapons.

Russia is recycling its threats and once again warning the United States against sending longer-range weaponry to Ukraine. Moscow warned the Biden administration this week that it would cross a "red line" if it supplied the Ukrainians with missiles able to strike distant targets.

"If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line and will become a direct party to the conflict," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Zakharova added that Russia "reserves the right to defend its territory," according to the news outlet.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine nearly seven months ago, the US has sent billions upon billions of dollars in weaponry and military aid to Ukraine, which has received weapons ranging from drones to artillery.

Last month, the White House announced a roughly $3 billion package of weapons and equipment for Ukraine, the largest tranche of security assistance it has sent during Russia's invasion to date.

President Joe Biden said in a statement at the time that the package "will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term."

The US has provided Ukraine with more than $15 billion in military assistance since Biden took office, and more may be on the way.

Russia has repeatedly warned the US and its allies to stop sending arms to Ukraine, arguing that it is prolonging the bloody conflict Putin started.

Though the US has provided Ukraine with High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and munitions for them, it does not have plans to supply Ukraine with the longer-range Army Tactical Missile Systems that the country has been wanting due to concerns of escalating the war, CNN reported on Thursday.

The US has previously expressed concerns about providing weapons that could strike Russia.

In recent days, Russia has suffered disastrous defeats in its war with Ukraine as Ukrainian forces reclaimed thousands of square miles of territory from Russian occupation in a stunning and lightning-fast counteroffensive that has led to more calls for Ukraine's partner nations to provide additional support to its war efforts.