In this handout photo provided by The State Duma, The Federal Assembly of The Russian Federation, Speaker of the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament Vyacheslav Volodin attends a session of the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow, Russia, Nov 24, 2022. (PHOTO / THE STATE DUMA, THE FEDERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION VIA AP)

MOSCOW – Deliveries of offensive weapons to Ukraine will lead to a "global catastrophe," said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Russian State Duma, on Sunday.

"If Washington and NATO countries supply weapons that will be used to strike civilian cities and attempt to seize our territories, as they threaten, this will lead to retaliatory measures using more powerful weapons," Volodin said on Telegram.

On Friday, defense leaders from Western countries pledged further military support to Ukraine but failed to iron out divisions on sending battle tanks

Members of the US Congress, the German Bundestag, the National Assembly of France and other European parliaments "must realize their responsibility to humanity," he said.

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"With their decisions, Washington and Brussels are leading the world to a terrible war: to a completely different military action from today, when strikes are carried out exclusively on the military and critical infrastructure used by Kiev," Volodin said.

"Given the technological superiority of Russian weapons, foreign politicians making such decisions need to understand that this could end in a global tragedy that will destroy their countries," he said.

On Friday, defense leaders from Western countries attended a meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where they pledged further military support to Ukraine but failed to iron out divisions on sending battle tanks.

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At the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged defense leaders attending the meeting to speed up the supply of weapons to Ukraine, the presidential press service reported.