Russian diplomat: US cannot prevent Russia from achieving the goals of the special operation

“I have a feeling that life has not yet taught the policymakers in the White House any lessons. They are taking every opportunity, even as a ‘lame duck’, to harm us and prevent us from achieving the objectives of the special military operation. But they will not succeed,” he said.

The diplomat was speaking when asked to comment on reports that US President Joe Biden had asked Congress for an additional $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.

“First of all, we need to find out what really happened, how much money was requested and for what purpose. All this makes us angry and protest,” he added.

Politico reported earlier that US lawmakers received a request from President Biden on November 25 to allocate $24 billion to Ukraine. According to sources, Washington wants to use $16 billion of that to replenish the US arsenal that was previously sent to Kiev. The remaining $8 billion will be used for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the US Department of Defense to sign contracts with manufacturers instead of withdrawing equipment and weapons from stockpiles.

Russia considers resuming nuclear testing?

In an interview, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Russia is considering the possibility of resuming nuclear tests in the context of the US pursuing escalatory policies.

Asked whether Moscow could resume nuclear tests in response to escalating US policies, he replied: "This is a problem. I don't want to predict anything, but I can only say that the situation is quite complicated. It is being constantly reviewed from all aspects and factors."

Vladimir Yermakov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, told TASS in February that there were some indirect signs that Washington might resume large-scale nuclear tests. The Russian leadership warned at the time that if the US went down this path, Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly.