The US authorities intend to drag out the conflict in Ukraine by any means, the Russian embassy in Washington said, commenting on the decisions of the US authorities to supply weapons to Kyiv.
“We drew attention to the Pentagon’s statement about the forthcoming shipment of four more HIMARS MLRS to Ukraine.
Behind this decision is Washington's unbridled desire to drag out the conflict at any cost, to compensate for the increasing losses of the national battalions and the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the sending of weapons, ”the diplomatic mission said in a statement.
Diplomats also called untenable the thesis of high-ranking US officials that the supplied weapons are used by the Ukrainian army exclusively for defensive purposes.
“The Kyiv authorities and nationalist formations are using weapons from the United States to destroy the cities of Donbass,” the diplomatic mission noted.
As the diplomats stressed, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to deliver targeted strikes on the residential areas of Donetsk, including with the use of NATO-standard 155-mm projectiles.
As a result, the embassy noted, every day people die in the capital of the DPR.
“The other day, during a walk right in front of her house, a ten-year-old girl, Veronika Badina, died.
In Donbass, more than 150 children were killed at the hands of the Nazis in eight years, ”the message says.
The embassy emphasized that the Russian Federation intends to put an end to the terror of the Kyiv regime, while the actions of the United States do not bring peace closer, but push Kyiv to new crimes.
On the evening of July 8, Washington announced the allocation of additional military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $400 million. According to the Pentagon, Kyiv will receive four more HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, taking into account which the number of such vehicles in Ukraine will reach 12. In addition, a new batch of military aid will include 155-mm projectiles of a new type, three tactical vehicles, counter-battery systems, spare parts and other equipment.
As follows from the publication of the Pentagon, the Biden administration sent military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 8 billion. In the last three weeks alone, the volume of funds allocated for assistance has reached $ 2.2 billion.
Previous deliveries to Kyiv included, in particular, 126 155-mm howitzers and more than 400 thousand rounds for them, more than 6.5 thousand Javelin complexes and 1.4 thousand Stinger installations, 200 M113 armored personnel carriers, 20 Mi-17 helicopters, over 700 Switchblade loitering ammunition and other equipment.
RIA Novosti reported, citing a senior Pentagon official, that the United States plans to supply arms to Ukraine "for months and years ahead."
It should be noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are shelling the territory of Donbass, including using Western systems of 155 mm caliber.
In particular, in early June, the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had begun using American M777 towed howitzers to attack Donetsk.
According to him, this type of artillery was used in the shelling of the sleeping areas of the DPR capital.
Subsequently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov drew attention to the fact that samples of weapons supplied to Kyiv by Western countries are used as a means of intimidating the civilian population of Ukraine.
As the minister stressed, Western states should be aware of their responsibility for the state terror of the Ukrainian authorities, which leads to the death of civilians.
“Western countries should, of course, be aware of their responsibility, regardless of how and what Zelensky and his team interpret.
The West must be aware of its responsibility for the deaths of civilians, primarily in the Donbass, in other parts of Ukraine, where the Kyiv regime uses these weapons against the civilian population as a means of intimidation,” Lavrov said on July 6 at a press conference following talks with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.