Anatoly Antonov: US Reluctant to Search for Diplomatic Solutions in Ukraine

"The United States goes on pumping its wards with new batches of lethal weapons. The allocation of such impressive financial resources for these purposes proves one thing: Washington does not intend to look for ways to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict," Anatoly Antonov said in a statement, released by the embassy’s press service.

He went on to say that officials from the current Washington administration "have done nothing to bring the Zelensky regime to the negotiating table," TASS reported. 

"On the contrary, the US has been methodically pushing its puppets to continue to sacrifice human lives for the sake of a wild goal - to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on Russia. It is impossible for Washington to back down from this task. The reputation of the country's leadership, which has chosen the path of war rather than diplomatic outcomes, is at stake," Antonov continued.

In his words, "local hawks are not bothered by the fact that billions of taxpayers’ dollars are not spent for the benefit of American citizens, but are burned in the furnace of war."

"Moreover, the money has been disappearing in the black hole of corruption, smuggling and Kyiv’s fraudulent schemes. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the United States to hush up these improper phenomena," the Russian ambassador continued.

"Bringing peace back to the long-suffering land of Ukraine is not obviously included in the plans of Washington strategists. Their priority is to lobby the interests of the military-industrial complex," he said.

"Every day there are reports from the war zone that fragments of US missiles have killed or maimed people. Made-in-USA-ammunition explodes in residential areas, turning peaceful cities into smoking ruins," he added. 

The US Department of Defense on Friday announced another package of military assistance worth 2.1 billion US dollars to Ukraine. According to the Pentagon, air defense systems and munitions will be purchased from manufacturers or partners and supplied to Ukraine.

The package will include Hawk air defense systems, 105mm and 203mm artillery rounds, Puma drones, and laser-guided rocket systems. Apart from that, the American side will provide support for training and maintenance activities.