Russian parliament leader demands NATO stop supplying arms, mercenaries to Ukraine

MOSCOW, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must stop supplying weapons and sending mercenaries to Ukraine, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower house of parliament, said Saturday.

"Weapons and ammunition are supplied by NATO countries. Mercenaries who fill the ranks of (Ukraine's) nationalist battalions are recruited in the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance with the consent of their leadership," Volodin posted on Telegram.

"So when (U.S. President Joe) Biden and his NATO colleagues call for peace, they must first start with themselves. It is their fault that the settlement of the situation in Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification are being delayed," the State Duma leader wrote.

If Western countries want peace, they should channel funds not to military supplies, but to humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people, he said.