Kremlin: U.S. plan to sell armed drones to Ukraine does not affect military operation

The Kremlin said on Thursday that U.S. plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use would not change the parameters of what Russia calls its special military operation.

Reuters reported on the Biden administration's plans to sell the drones on Wednesday. The transaction could still be blocked by Congress or derailed by a last-minute policy reversal.

"Pumping (Western) weapons into Ukraine does not change all the parameters of the special operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "Its goals will be achieved, but this will bring more suffering to Ukraine ..."

Of the possibility that Russian territory could be targeted from Ukraine with the new weapons, Peskov said: "I still do not want to talk about absolutely undesirable and very unpleasant scenarios in which these weapons could hypothetically be used against targets on our territory.

"This would significantly shift the situation towards an unfavourable direction," he added.

Russia has tried to intercept and destroy Western weapons supplies to Ukraine since it sent troops into its neighbour on Feb. 24.

Moscow says Western arms deliveries for Kyiv and sanctions against the Russian economy amount to a "proxy war" by the United States and its allies.