MOSCOW – South Korea’s participation in the NATO “PURL” initiative to allocate funds for Ukraine to purchase weapons only pushes back the prospects for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
“This will cause irreparable damage to relations between and the Republic of Korea,” Zakharova said, adding Russia will be forced to exercise its right to retaliate.
According to Zakharova, Moscow was surprised by news of Seoul’s possible participation in the program, as it runs counter to its official position.
Zakharova said that Russia values South Korea’s official line of non-participation in the efforts of the “collective West” to pump weapons and ammunition into the armed forces of Ukraine, viewing it as a prerequisite for the future restoration of Russian-South Korean relations.
On Friday, The Korea Times, citing its sources at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, reported that NATO had approached South Korean authorities with a request to join the PURL initiative.
NATO launched the PURL program last summer in response to changes in US policy regarding free arms supplies to Ukraine. The program’s mechanism is that Kyiv raises emergent requests for weapons, and NATO members finance their purchase from the United States.
Meanwhile, Russia shot down seven HIMARS rockets, five guided aerial bombs and 326 fixed-wing drones launched by Ukrainian forces in the past 24 hours, the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday.
“Air defense systems destroyed five guided aerial bombs, seven rockets from the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, and 326 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry said in a statement.
Russian forces also launched a strike using long-range precision weapons against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and energy infrastructure that supports the Ukrainian armed forces, with all designated targets hit, said the ministry.
“The Russian Armed Forces conducted a large-scale strike employing long-range, ground- and air-launched precision weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and energy infrastructure used to sustain Ukrainian military operations. The objectives of the strike have been fully achieved. All designated targets have been neutralized,” it said.
Russian troops also eliminated a Ukrainian military logistics center and a storage facility housing drones and their components, the ministry said, adding that temporary deployment points of Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries in 144 locations were targeted.