© AP / J. Scott ApplewhiteUkrainian President Vladimir Zelensky holds an American flag that was gifted to him by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Capitol Hill in Washington, December 21, 2022.
Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, has accused Washington of waging a "proxy war" against Moscow, saying that all the statements and declarations made during Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's visit only further prove that the Biden administration is not interested in a peaceful settlement.
"The Hollywood-style trip to Washington by the head of the Kiev regime has confirmed that the administration's conciliatory statements about the lack of intention to start a confrontation with Russia are just empty words," Antonov said, according to a transcript of his response to a journalist published by the Russian Embassy in Washington on Wednesday night.
Washington is throwing all its colossal resources, weapons, and intelligence capabilities at Kiev in pursuit of the "manic idea of defeating the Russians on the battlefield," Antonov said.
The ambassador specifically noted the US pledge to supply Kiev with Patriot air defense missiles, warning that such weapons and their crews would be legitimate targets for the Russian military. He also slammed the growing speculation about deliveries of ATACMS missiles and long-range attack drones.
"What was essentially announced to applause and sarcastic smirks, was the need to continue the 'proxy war' against our country. Until a complete victory over us," he added.
Moscow has repeatedly tried to "appeal to common sense at all levels," the diplomat said, stressing that shipments of increasingly modern and long-range weapons and other provocative actions by the US and its allies are leading to an escalation, with consequences "impossible to even imagine."
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