The Kremlin says there is "considerable" risk of the conflict escalating
to nuclear weapons.

Speaking on the 61st day of the war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said continual deliveries of supplies and weaponry to Ukraine means
the NATO alliance has positioned itself as "in essence engaged in war with
Russia".

In an interview on Russian state television on Monday, he warned: "These
weapons will be a legitimate target for Russia's military acting within
the context of the special operation."

Lavrov went on: "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through
a proxy and is arming that proxy.

"War means war."

His comments came after it was announced the US would be allocating a
further $713m (£560m) in military aid - but that this would not go to
Ukraine directly, but to members of NATO.

Earlier Lavrov had also claimed there was a "considerable" risk of the
conflict escalating to nuclear weapons.

"The danger is serious, real" he said, "and we must not underestimate it.."

The claims of NATO 'involvement' in the two-month-old conflict came as UN
secretary-general Antonio Guterres confirmed he was to meet Mr Lavrov and
Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to make urgent
face-to-face pleas for peace.

On Monday, the US said it will again ramp up the amount of military kit it
is sending to Ukraine.

The State Department used an emergency declaration to approve the
potential sale of $165 million (£129m) worth of ammunition including
artillery ammunition for howitzers, tanks and grenade launchers. It also
said it will provide more than $300 million (£235m) in financing to buy
more supplies.

And US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin appeared to signify a shift in
broader US strategic goals when he said after the announcement, that while
the US wanted to see Ukraine remain a sovereign, democratic country, it
also wanted "to see Russia weakened to the point where it can't do things
like invade Ukraine".

Previously, the US position had been that the goal of American military
aid was to help Ukraine win and to defend Ukraine's NATO neighbours
against Russian threats.

It led to Moscow's ambassador to Washington warning the United States to
halt shipments, and claims that Western weapons were inflaming the
conflict.

The conflict in Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since
1945, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to
rubble, and forced more than five million people to flee abroad.

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-says-it-is-engaged-in-war-with-nato-and-tells-the-west-to-stop-supplying-weapons-to-ukraine-12599126