US ‘obsessed’ with inflicting strategic defeat on Russia – Moscow
US policymakers are being consumed by their desire to undermine Russia at all costs, which is pushing them to pump Ukraine with more and more weapons, Moscow’s embassy in Washington has said.
In a statement on Tuesday, the embassy commented on the Pentagon’s latest decision to provide Ukraine with an additional $500 million security assistance package, including armored vehicles, anti-tank systems, and various types of ammunition.
By supplying Kiev with arms, the US “is making futile attempts to defeat the Russian Federation ‘on the battlefield’ with the hands of Kiev puppets,’” the embassy said.
It added that the Russian military is “debunking the myths about the ‘unsurpassed quality’ of American and NATO weapons” on a daily basis as the conflict continues, citing “mangled machinery smoking on the fields of Donbass” as a prime example.
"With further deliveries of military equipment, Washington only confirms its obsession with the idea of inflicting a strategic defeat on the Russian Federation. To do this, [it] pushes its clients towards more and more desperate adventures. The lives of Ukrainians mean nothing to the American authorities".
Since the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the US, which has emerged as the country’s most prominent Western backer, has committed more than $40 billion in security assistance to Kiev. Russia has repeatedly warned against Western countries sending weapons to Ukraine, arguing that these policies only prolong the conflict while making them direct participants in the hostilities.
Meanwhile, Russia said it had destroyed dozens of Ukrainian tanks and other heavy equipment as it repelled Kiev’s ongoing counteroffensive, including several German-supplied Leopard tanks and US-made Bradley armored vehicles. Videos published on social media have shown the destruction of Western-supplied armor.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kiev had lost about 30% of its Western-supplied equipment. On Tuesday, he claimed that, since the start of the counteroffensive on June 4, Ukraine had lost 259 tanks and 780 armored vehicles.
