WASHINGTON, July 20. /TASS/. Russia returns peace to Ukrainian liberated territories and creates conditions for normal life and equal rights, the Russian Embassy in the US wrote on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.

The Russian diplomats commented on the White House’s claims that Russia intends to "annex Ukrainian territories." "The claims about the aggressive nature of the Russian military special operation are fundamentally false. We are returning peace to the liberated territories, creating circumstances for normal life and respect for equal rights of citizens regardless of ethnicity and language. […] The whole country has risen to help the affected settlements," the diplomatic agency stressed.

According to the statement, this involves "federal authorities, regions, public organizations and just not indifferent Russians. Infrastructure, housing, and social facilities are being actively restored. Thousands of specialists are involved in the process." By the end of this year, about 500 kilometers of roads and bridges are planned to be built in Donbass, while 12 modern apartment buildings and a medical center with high-tech equipment will be ready as early as this fall, the embassy reported.

"Humanitarian aid supplies do not stop. To date, more than 45 thousand tons of humanitarian cargo have been sent to Ukraine, the DPR and the LPR. How does all this relate to the concept of "annexation"? […]The leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that the population of the liberated territories will decide on their future independently, by themselves," the embassy added.

According to the Russian diplomats, "the new insinuations are another confirmation of Washington's desire to "heat up" the conflict as long as possible." "The US ruling circles are not driven by concern for Ukrainians, but by a desire to inflict maximum damage on Russia. Our country will continue to work vigorously to establish peaceful life on the liberated lands and to fulfill all the tasks of the special military operation," the embassy concluded.

On Tuesday, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House John Kirby asserted that the US administration was not going to recognize the territories it considered Ukrainian as part of Russia and would be ready to introduce new sanctions against Moscow should the situation develop in that direction.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address 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 order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." 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. Following this, the US and its allies announced the introduction of sweeping sanctions against Russia and stepped up arms deliveries to Kiev. A number of Western politicians admitted that this was essentially an economic war against Russia.