NEW YORK, November 19. /TASS/. The Ukrainian government is trying to trigger a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said in a comment to Newsweek.

"The Ukrainian authorities are not only begging Washington to provide more military assistance, but are also trying to provoke a direct military clash between the Russian Federation and NATO," the embassy’s press service quoted the diplomat as saying.

Antonov went on to say that West’s absurd attempts to shift responsibility for everything on Russia "can only provoke the Kiev regime, which already feels permissiveness."

A missile crashed in the village of Przewodow in eastern Poland’s Lublin Voivodeship close to the border with Ukraine on November 15, killing two people. Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday the missile was part of the Ukrainian air defense system. The US State Department said the US has full confidence in the accuracy of conclusions made by Poland. The Russian Foreign Ministry called statements by Kiev with respect to the incident a "gross provocation." According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the missile was fired by a Ukrainian S-300 air defense system.