Russia: The US Is at War Against Us

Moscow’s top diplomat said Washington is controlling Ukraine to wage war against Russia

by Kyle Anzalone Posted on September 17, 2023

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/09/17/russia-the-us-is-at-war-against-us/

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blasted the US for waging a proxy war in Ukraine. The Washington-led North Atlantic alliance has transferred nearly $100 billion in military aid to Kyiv. Lavrov said the White House was controlling Ukraine’s military decisions.

On Sunday Morning at the Eastern Economic Forum, the Russian diplomat explained Moscow’s position. “No matter what it says, it [the US] controls this war, it supplies weapons, munition, intelligence information, data from satellites, it is pursuing a war against us,” Lavrov said.

According to the Kiel Institute, the US and its allies have transferred slightly under $100 billion in weapons to Ukraine since the start of the war. Additionally, the West has trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and provided Kyiv with other military support, such as targeting and intelligence.

Lavrov said the proxy war the West is waging against Russia in Ukraine was a long-planned effort aimed at Moscow’s strategic defeat. He stated, “While what is going on is that Ukraine has been prepared, has long been prepared for inflicting strategic defeat to Russia using its hands and its bodies.”

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the White House was considering escalating support for Ukraine by sending long-range ATACMS missiles with a range of 190 miles. Lavrov was asked how Moscow may respond if Washington provides Kyiv with the rockets. “I am unable to comment on their statements… but the fact that it will not change the essence of what is going on in Ukraine is obvious,” he explained.

The UK has previously sent Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, with a range of about 300 miles. Ukraine has used those long-range weapons to attack the Crimean Peninsula. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington no longer objects to Kyiv using Western-provided weapons to launch an attack on Russian territory.

In separate comments made on Friday, Lavrov said Washington’s effort extends beyond the proxy war in Ukraine to a global campaign to isolate Moscow. He explained that the West attempted to use a recent peace summit held in Saudi Arabia to turn countries against Russia. “There is a real plot around the topic of the so-called (peace) negotiations, as well as attempts to turn everything upside down through pseudo diplomacy,” he said. “The West has been saying for months that this ‘peace formula’ is the only basis for negotiations. It starts from innocent topics … and then comes to the purpose for which it was concocted – inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, to restore the borders of Ukraine as they were in 1991, court-martial the Russian leadership, force Russia to pay reparations, and then ‘mercifully’ agree to sign a peace agreement.”

He added, “These are exactly the dirty methods that the West uses not only in relation to Ukraine but in many other areas of global politics.”

Last month, a summit was held in Jeddah on the Ukraine war. The conference was billed as a peace summit, but Russian officials were not invited. At the summit, Kyiv was allowed to present its proposal with no counter from Moscow.

Lavrov said the Kremlin is open to talks, and the Russian position has not changed. Moscow is demanding territorial concessions, as well as Kyiv’s agreement to hold a neutral status and accept some demilitarization. Lavrov said “all the balls” are on the side of Kyiv, explaining that Russia is waiting for Ukraine to open talks on terms acceptable to Moscow.

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.