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US resorts to anything to stretch out military conflict in Ukraine, says diplomat

Over 30 countries including NATO member states are engaged in the massive supplies of weapons to Ukraine in fear of Kiev’s possible defeat

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Washington and its NATO allies are resorting to all possible means to prolong the conflict in Ukraine making it as deadly as possible, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"The United States and its NATO’s allies are resorting to all measures to draw out the course of developments and combat actions, to make the [armed] standoff as deadly as possible," she told journalists.

According to her, over 30 countries including NATO member states are engaged in the massive supplies of weapons to Ukraine in fear of Kiev’s possible defeat.

"The assortment of [Western] supplied weapons keeps swelling and already includes large-caliber artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems," she emphasized.

Russia’s military operation in Donbass

The situation at the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. Back then, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardment by the Ukrainian military in months, which damaged civilian infrastructure and inflicted casualties upon the population.

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions stipulating the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions as of the beginning of 2014.

Russian President Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, noting that the operation was aimed at the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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