MOSCOW (Dispatches) - The U.S. government’s policies on Ukraine show it is not interested in a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the Russian ambassador to Washington said on Thursday.
In a statement, Anatoly Antonov argued that Washington’s decision to supply Kiev with Bradley Fighting Vehicles only confirms the U.S. has not “even tried to listen” to Russia’s warnings against such “a dangerous course.”
“The U.S. unleashed a real proxy-war against Russia by supporting Nazi criminals in Kiev” as early as 2014, the ambassador said, referring to the coup that ousted the democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich. “Any talk about a ‘defensive nature’ of weapons supplied to Ukraine has long become absurd,” he added.
The envoy claimed Western arms shipments only encourage Ukrainian radicals to commit “terrible deeds,” adding to “their feeling of impunity… They continue to kill civilians in Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions of the Russian Federation in an extremely cynical way.”
“Nobody should still have doubts who bears responsibility for prolonging this conflict,” as all actions by the U.S. administration “indicate a lack of any desire for a political settlement,” Antonov said.
The Russian ambassador highlighted U.S. President Joe Biden’s reaction to the 36-hour truce on Orthodox Christmas announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Earlier, the U.S. president dismissed Moscow’s offer, saying: “I’m reluctant to respond to anything that Putin says… I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.”
“All this means that Washington is committed to fighting with us ‘to the last Ukrainian’, while the destiny of people of Ukraine means nothing to the U.S.,” the diplomat argued.
The proposed ceasefire was branded “hypocritical” by Ukrainian officials, with President Vladimir Zelensky calling it a ruse, saying: “Everyone in the world knows how the Kremlin uses ceasefires to continue the war with renewed vigor.”

U.S. to Send 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine

A new U.S. weapons package for Ukraine will include about 50 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, with one of the officials saying the package will be worth roughly $2.8 billion.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that sending the Bradleys, a U.S. Army staple, to Ukraine was being considered to help fight Russia’s invasion. Russia’s ambassador accused the United States of plotting a “dangerous course.”
The latest security package for Ukraine is expected to be unveiled on Friday, the officials said.
Of the roughly $2.8 billion package, around $800 million of the funds came from Foreign Military Financing to help Ukraine procure weapons, one official said. The balance of the funds came from Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine, which allows the United States to transfer defense articles like Humvees, trucks and munitions from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
Germany will also supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers and a Patriot missile battery, the government said Thursday.
The announcement came in a joint German-U.S. statement after Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden.
It came shortly after France said it will soon hold talks with Ukraine to arrange for the delivery of armored combat vehicles. France’s presidency said that will be the first time this type of Western-made wheeled tank destroyer will be given to the Ukrainian military.
The German government didn’t specify how many Marder APCs will be supplied or when. It said that Germany will train Ukrainian forces on them.
The statement noted that the U.S. last month announced that it would give a Patriot air defense missile battery to Ukraine and said that “Germany will join the United States in supplying an additional Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.” It didn’t specify a timeframe.