Russia Calls U.S. Aid To Ukraine An ‘Immediate Threat’

As Russian President Vladimir Putin signed his annexation laws Wednesday, the Russian ambassador to the U.S. made direct accusations against America for its role in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Biden administration informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the phone Tuesday of $625 million more heading to Ukraine in an arms package that will send four advanced rocket systems to the country. On Wednesday, Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov responded, saying that the latest military aid, on top of America’s billions of dollars committed to Ukraine, proves “Washington’s status as a participant in the conflict.” He also called the aid an “immediate threat,” CBS News reported.

“The supply of military products by the U.S. and its allies not only entails protracted bloodshed and new casualties, but also increases the danger of a direct military clash between Russia and Western countries,” Antonov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. “We call on Washington to stop its provocative actions that could lead to the most serious consequences.”

The U.S. government has already committed upwards of $40 billion to Ukraine since the end of January, more than every other country in the world combined, according to figures from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. The American government’s military aid to Ukraine has, no doubt, helped the country fend off its Russian invaders. Putin’s superior army invaded Ukraine in late February, and seven months later, the war drags on with winter approaching and no end in sight.

The Russians have been forced to retreat on multiple occasions in the past month as a Ukrainian counteroffensive successfully takes back key positions on the war’s frontline. Russian troops withdrew Saturday from Lyman in the Donetsk Oblast just one day after Putin annexed large swaths of Ukraine following what many are calling sham referenda across four eastern and southern Ukrainian regions.

Another Russian official, Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya, called for “more drastic measures” to be taken when troops fled Lyman, according to the Associated Press.