RFE/RL's news desk has issued this item on Russia response to the U.S. Congress passing a bill to provide military assistance to Ukraine:
Russia has voiced "deep regret" about U.S. legislation that would approve fresh sanctions against Moscow and allow U.S. President Barack Obama's administration to provide lethal military assistance to Kyiv for its fight against Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said the approval of the so-called Ukraine Freedom Support Act by both houses of the U.S. Congress on December 11 was "openly confrontational" in its nature.
The bill was scheduled for a second vote by lawmakers on December 12 due to technical reasons and still must be approved by the White House to become law.
It would open the way for the provision of up to $350 million worth of military hardware to Ukraine -- including the delivery of antitank and antiarmor weapons, radar, surveillance drones, and communications equipment to Ukrainian forces.
Lawmakers in Kyiv welcomed the approval by U.S. lawmakers on December 11 as a "historic decision."
(Reuters, AP, AFP)