MOSCOW, Reuters –Russian officials on Monday reiterated their logic behind sending forces to Ukraine. They said Western arms supplies to Kyiv had shown that Moscow is right to seek demilitarization of its neighbor.

Dmitry Peskov (Kremlin spokesperson) accused Europe of being hostile to Russia.

His response was to Ukraine’s increased weapons supply to aid its defense against what is believed to be the largest invasion by a European country since World War Two. Moscow claims it’s engaged in “special military operations” to defend civilians.

Peskov, who did not provide any evidence in his briefing, stated that Ukrainians had been used as human shields for what he described as a Ukrainian crime. They were victims of the country’s propaganda, he said.

Peskov claimed that the majority of Russians were connected to Ukraine through their relatives and felt pained by what was going on there.

However, he declined to discuss casualties caused by Russian forces and referred the question to defense ministry.

He declined to provide any details on the instructions given by President Vladimir Putin at the weekend to Russia’s nuclear-deterrence forces to go on an “special regime of alertness” or whether there were risks of confrontation with NATO.