<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday blamed the West for the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, after Kyiv's allies promised to send new weapons to Ukraine, reports AFP&nbsp;</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>"The responsibility for fuelling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims... lies completely with Western elites," Putin said.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>