Russian Ambassador to Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky has told Sputnik that there are no doubts that the money that Austria allocated for the alleged economic recovery of Ukraine is being spent on the Ukrainian armed forces.
"Vienna is by and large complicit in sponsoring the endless pumping of Western arms into Kiev by sending money to the notorious European Peace Facility. Yes, so far, there has been no talking about direct deliveries of arms. But in one year alone, more than 150 million euros [$165.6 million] have gone to Ukraine from Austria in the form of donations allegedly for economic recovery, with another 80 million directly allocated by the government. There is no doubt that these funds are being used to finance the Ukrainian armed forces but not peace projects," the ambassador said.
Lyubinsky added that it is a rhetorical question of how these money transfers fit with the country's principles of neutrality.
"Even if Vienna is trying to reduce everything to military neutrality, my answer is: it does not. Vienna's own military contribution to the bloc against Russia could hardly add anything to the balance of power in Europe. What Austria has to lose in the international arena is absolutely transparent. Gains are very doubtful," the diplomat said.
Since the launch of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the US and other Western countries have been actively supplying Ukraine with weapons and ammunition.
Moscow has repeatedly cautioned NATO members that by arming the Kiev regime, they are "playing with fire" and contributing to the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine. Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, made it clear that any arms shipment to Kiev would be viewed as a valid target for Russian military.