The Kremlin accused the US of “adding fuel to the fire” in eastern Ukraine with President Biden’s decision to arm Kyiv with missile systems — and warned that the aid increases the risk of a direct conflict with Washington.

“We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, claiming that the precision weaponry would discourage Ukraine from resuming stalled peace talks.

When asked how Moscow would respond if Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied rockets to attack Russian territory, Peskov only responded: “Let’s not talk about worst-case scenarios.”

Asked later if America’s plans increased the chances of a third country becoming involved in the conflict with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: “Such risks certainly exist.”

President Biden announced that the US would send the advanced missile system to Ukraine in an op-ed in Tuesday’s New York Times, an abrupt about-face from his statement a day earlier that his administration would not supply weapons that could strike inside Russia.

“We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,” Biden wrote.

“That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” he added.

The reversal came after Biden was widely criticized for saying he wouldn’t send an arms package to Ukraine as Russian forces press their offensive in the eastern Donbas region. The aid tranche will also include high-tech, medium-range rocket systems, as well as helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles and other equipment.

Military analysts have said Russia is hoping to take over as much territory as it can before Ukraine receives weapons from the West that could halt the advance. 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking the US and its allies for more firepower — including Multiple Launch Rocket Systems as well as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.

Jonathan Finer, a deputy White House national security adviser, said Ukraine has vowed not to use the rockets, which have a range of about 50 miles, to strike Russian targets. 

“We have asked Ukrainians for assurances that they will not use these systems to strike inside Russia,” Finer said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday. “This is a defensive conflict that the Ukrainians are waging. Russian forces are on their territory.”

Finer said the missiles will enable Ukrainian forces to reach battlefield targets they’re unable to hit with the weapons they currently have, which could turn the tide in the Donbas battle.

Peskov said Wednesday that Moscow doesn’t have faith that Zelensky won’t turn the weapons on Russia.

“In order to trust, there must be previous experience when such promises were fulfilled. Unfortunately, such experience is completely nonexistent,” he said.

“On the contrary, the entire history of events proves that, starting with Zelensky’s main campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine’s southeast once and for all, [the promise] was not fulfilled, and the Minsk Agreements were not implemented, they sunk into oblivion, and by Ukraine’s fault at that,” Peskov added. “So we don’t really have any trust credit for the Ukrainian side.”

With Post wires