Pumping Ukraine with weapons is a direct path to war between Russia and the US, Antonov says

The pumping of Ukraine with weapons directly leads to a confrontation between Russia and the US, Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

“The short-sightedness of the United States is also seen in the current circumstances. Driven by the desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, the local elites are raising the stakes in escalating tensions by pumping up the Kiev regime with weapons. Is not it clear that this is the road to a direct military confrontation between the major nuclear powers, fraught with unpredictable consequences?” the diplomat said in an interview with Newsweek magazine.

US plan to strangle Russia with sanctions also does not work. "The thoughtless imposition of restrictions only aggravates the situation in the U.S. economy. Thus it turns out that in an anti-Russian fever, Washington is ready to shoot itself in the leg and dance simultaneously. It looks absurd," the ambassador said, noting that the US efforts "will not affect the determination of the Russian Armed Forces to fulfill the tasks set during the special military operation to protect the population of Donbass, as well as the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine."

Antonov urged the United States "entertaining illusions about the 'defeat' of our country" and instead "must acknowledge that there is no alternative to pragmatic relations with Russia”.

"As for Ukraine itself, the development of the situation with this country is a litmus test that will show the readiness of Western states to take into account Russian concerns. further progress towards the stabilization of European security will depend on the outcome of the crisis settlement process in Ukraine," the ambassador said.

He also stressed that Russia remains ready for negotiations on security guarantees. "Of course, after the special military operation will be over, their content will have to be adapted to the realities," he added.

Senator Alexei Pushkov also noted that European leaders are carried away by the events in Ukraine, forgetting about the more disturbing news, for instance, the impending heat wave.

“The leaders of the EU, who are carried away by Ukraine, have forgotten that a much more powerful and serious crisis is coming, in comparison with which the fate of remote territories in the south-east of Europe will cease to have any meaning for 99% of Europeans at all. Like most of what Europe now worries about. But Western capitals have long lost their sense of real threats," Pushkov wrote on his Telegram channel.

Against the background of the Russian special operation to protect the Donbass, which began on February 24, the United States and NATO allies continue to pump weapons to Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly stated that the supply of Western weapons only prolongs the conflict, and the transport of weapons becomes a legitimate target for the Russian military.