Washington sinking into expensive Ukraine quagmire, Russian ambassador to U.S. says

The U.S. is using Ukrainians as proxies as it rushes headlong into an eventual confrontation with Russia, Moscow’s ambassador to Washington warned Tuesday after the U.S. announcement of a $200 million security assistance package to Kyiv.

America is sinking “deeper and deeper” into a quagmire and leaders in the Biden administration expect the conflict to drag on “for a long time,” Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov said on his Telegram social media site.

“It looks like the [Biden] administration cannot figure out how to get out of the bloody project and save its face at the same time,” Amb. Antonov said. “The White House obviously does not care about the rapid decline in the level of support for such a strategy in the American society.”

The U.S. has provided more than $43 billion worth of weapons for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

On Monday, the Pentagon announced the 44th round of military hardware taken directly from Defense Department stock and given to Ukraine. It includes air defense munitions, artillery and tank ammunition, mine-clearing equipment and more than 12 million rounds of small arms ammo and grenades, among other items.

“What is missed here is that the deadly products of the U.S. defense corporations are used by Kyiv criminals against peaceful citizens and civilian facilities,” Amb. Antonov said. “Such irresponsibility is already too costly for both parties involved in the conflict, as well as for a local taxpayer.”

On Tuesday, Sweden announced a $313 million military support package for Ukraine, mostly focusing on ammunition and spare parts for combat systems that Stockholm had previously provided, such as its Combat Vehicle 90 and Leopard 2 tanks.

“We have to prepare ourselves for the fact this could be a long-lasting war,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said Tuesday during a press conference. “We also have a long-term perspective so that we can support those platforms that we are sending to Ukraine in a lasting manner.”

Ukraine is in the midst of a difficult counter-offensive and has made slow but steady progress against Russian forces. On Monday, Kyiv’s troops conducted operations on at least two sectors of the front and appear to have made advances in the crucial Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area, according to the Institute for the Study of War think tank in Washington.

Russia’s ambassador said Ukraine — even with NATO backing — will not be able to achieve victory against Russia.

“All goals and objectives of the ’Special Military Operation’ will be achieved,” Amb. Antonov said, using Russia’s official description its operations in Ukraine.