Former Austrian foreign minister Karin Kneissl stated on Thursday that Europe would be obliged to deal with the implications of an unchecked arms market in Eastern and Central Europe.

Kneissel warned UN Security Council members at a meeting on Ukraine, citing that the effects would be "tougher" than those in the Yugoslav war.

Since the war in Ukraine began, Western nations have supplied Ukraine with hundreds of billions of dollars in aid almost half of it being military equipment, something the Kremlin has cautioned against, citing that the continuous transfers will only mean a prolonging of the war. 

The military supplies shipments began in 2022 with artillery munitions and training, and have since expanded to include tanks, sophisticated air defense systems, missiles, and cluster bombs. 

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the preferable course of action for ending the war in Ukraine is the peace process.

At a meeting with participants of the New Media Festival, Peskov said, "Russia has never abandoned the peace process, and we remain ready. We have the task of ensuring our security both for us and for future generations. Of course, the peace process is preferable."

It is challenging to discuss the specifics of potential talks with Kiev without being aware of the specifics of the statement of Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, said Peskov. 

Kuleba stated earlier in the day when speaking with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing that Ukraine is prepared for discussions with Russia, but that they must be reasonable and realistic in order to bring about a fair and durable peace.  

US plans Black Sea logistics centers to speed arms supply to Ukraine

In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Thursday, Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev said that the US is aiming to establish logistics centers in the Black Sea region to expedite arms supplies and deploy long-range weapons to Ukraine.

"In the countries of the Black Sea region, the United States intends to create logistics centers to accelerate the supply of weapons to Ukraine, as well as to deploy modern long-range weapons," Patrushev said.

He also criticized the idea of allowing Western ships unhindered access to ports in the Sea of Azov.

"Given the aggressive nature of Western countries that directly support the Kiev regime in conducting military and terrorist actions against Russia, currently any unhindered passage of their ships to the ports of Azov is out of the question," he told Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

These statements follow a recent joint communiqué signed at a Swiss-hosted Ukraine summit, in which nations called for unhindered access to ports in the Black and Azov Seas to allegedly support global food security.