FM Lavrov: Washington officially refuses to fight Russia directly

Russia received an official message from the US via diplomatic channels that Washington neither planned nor was willing to fight with Moscow directly.

In addition, the United States will not send its military specialists to maintain Patriot anti-aircraft systems in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview for Channel One.

"We have asked the Americans through the channels that our embassy still has, whether the decision to supply the Patriot battery, given the complexity of its use, means that there will be American specialists [in Ukraine]. They explained to us quite extensively that this was not part of their plans, just because the Americans do not want and will not fight against Russia directly," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

According to Lavrov, it will take the Ukrainian military several months to put Patriot systems into operation.

Representatives of the American side also informed that Patriot air defense systems would be deployed on the territory of Ukraine gradually.

The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system was included in another package of military aid that Washington provided to Ukraine last week.