Russian Ambassador to the US: Ukraine Wants to Provoke NATO into Clash with Russia

Russia's TASS news agency reported on May 23 that Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that the Kiev government is taking provocative steps to draw the US and other NATO members into a direct conflict with Russia.

Commenting on statements by US politicians and lawmakers calling for Kiev to use US weapons against military and energy facilities deep inside Russia, Antonov said: “Such provocative statements are extremely dangerous and reckless. The calls of Russophobics mean only one thing – deeper US involvement in the conflict in Ukraine on the side of the struggling Zelensky regime.”

"The level of hyper-reaction to our successes on the front is growing exponentially in Washington, not by the day, but by the hour. Politicians and lawmakers continue to test our patience. Every day we hear new proposals to expand military assistance to the authorities in Kiev," Antonov said in a statement posted on the Russian embassy's Telegram channel.

“It is clear that Kiev wants to do what it can to provoke the United States and other NATO countries into rash actions and lead to a direct conflict between Russia and its members.”

In the Russian ambassador's opinion, "this is exactly how the ideas about using American long-range systems against Russian civilians, primarily women, children and the elderly, should be viewed."

“Here we must also mention the Western countries’ push to shoot down the aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces. I would like to emphasize that the Kiev regime has long stopped asking for permission from Western countries to wage war against civilian targets on Russian territory. Brutal raids using the deadly products of the NATO military-industrial complex are being carried out almost regularly throughout our country,” Antonov said.