“In general, there’s a suspicion that the invariable and immutable authority on using the armed forces in any normal country begins to cloud, an authority that should be with the commander-in-chief,” Lavrov said.
Pro-Kiev battalions, including Donbas, Azov and Dnipro, were formed in April 2014 after Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine. In November, the volunteer divisions were put under command of the Ukrainian army.
US Plans to Supply Ukraine With Weapons Undermine Minsk Agreements
The US plans to supply Ukraine with weaponry are a clear attempt to violate the Minsk peace accords, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told RIA Novosti on Monday.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held a phone conversation with US Vice President Joe Biden to discuss military aid to Ukraine, according to Poroshenko's press service.
"This is a blatant attempt to undermine the Minsk agreements, to violate them, because the accords, on the contrary, call for withdrawal of all foreign [weapons] from Ukraine," the minister stressed.
The minister added that "the majority of Europeans consider such plans as dangerous."
Last week, US President Barack Obama approved an additional $75 million non-lethal military aid package for Kiev, which would include providing equipment such as drones and armored vehicles.
Kiev and the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics signed a ceasefire agreement in Minsk last month, in an attempt to end hostilities that, according to UN figures, have killed more than 6,000 people since the conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine last April.
