US encouraging Ukraine to commit new crimes – Moscow
The US is nudging Ukraine towards committing new war crimes and helping to prolong the conflict by continuing to send military aid to the embattled country, Moscow’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has said.
On Wednesday, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced another military assistance package for Kiev totaling around $2.5 billion. It includes air defense munitions, HIMARS missiles, artillery rounds, anti-tank weapons and other equipment. Since the start of the conflict in February 2022, the Biden administration has committed more than $53 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
In a statement on Telegram, Antonov denounced the latest American aid package, charging that Washington “continues its course towards war” and “harbors illusory dreams of a strategic victory over Russia.”
“Pumping up the agonizing Zelensky regime with deadly weapons is a futile project. In essence, this is encouraging Kiev terrorists to commit new crimes.”
American weapons will not deter Russia from pushing on toward its end goal of “liberating Ukraine,” the envoy said. “They will only lead to new casualties among civilians, including women and children.”
He also said that the Ukraine conflict mostly benefits the US defense industrial complex, while Washington “is balancing on the brink of conflict with Russia, the largest nuclear power.” The ambassador added that “it feels as if they are not thinking about the global consequences of the catastrophe that is approaching due to the short-sighted and dangerous policies of Washington.”
In addition, Antonov opined that by approving Ukraine aid, US policymakers intend to “demonstrate that they are steadfast in defending the crumbling world order based on American rules on the eve of the NATO summit in Washington.” Those politicians, however, are ignoring “the cost of such a Pyrrhic victory,” he stated.
The ambassador said that the US leadership is blind to the true state of affairs, as it has become “entangled in its own networks of intrigue and sanctions” which have failed to deter Russia and other independent states, while becoming a burden for the West.
The envoy also recalled that the West rejected Moscow’s peace overture that could put an end to the conflict. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow was ready to immediately open peace talks with Ukraine once it withdraws troops from Donbass and two other former regions and agrees to commit to a neutral status.
