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US attache’s words about Moscow’s aggression push Kiev to use force in Donbass — top brass

The Russian Defense Ministry noted that the accusatory statement runs counter to Pentagon’s declarations about commitment to peaceful settlement in Ukraine as the only alternative

MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Allegations about "Russian aggression" voiced by US Defense Attache in Kiev Brittany Stewart are false and only push the Ukrainian side towards the use of force to resolve the conflict in Donbass, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

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According to the ministry, on October 16, it summoned the US defense attache in Moscow. "It was pointed to the American side that the above mentioned statement is based on false allegations, is of provocative nature and pushes the Ukrainian side towards a forceful solution to the internal conflict in Donbass," the ministry said.

The ministry also noted that Stewart’s statement runs counter to Pentagon’s declarations about commitment to peaceful settlement in Ukraine as the only alternative.

On Wednesday, Stewart congratulated Ukrainian servicemen on Ukraine's Defender Day. In her Ukrainian-language video address posted on the US embassy’s Facebook account, she said her country was giving credit to those who "continue to take selfless efforts to defend Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic course and its borders amid ongoing Russian aggression." She thanked them for "self-denial" and pledged that the United States would continue to be Ukraine’s "unbreakable partner."

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