WASHINGTON, April 14. /TASS/. The US administration plans to continue shelling out billions of dollars worth of military assistance to Kiev, but supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict and will not change the situation in any meaningful way, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told TASS on Friday.

"The recently published United States military budget figures for next year show an increase in weapons production and multibillion-dollar infusions into Ukraine's rotten war machine. The Americans are keeping a close eye on what is going on on the battlefield. They are analyzing our methods, combat prowess, the effectiveness of Russian weapons and are taking all this into account in their schemes and operational plans," he noted.

"It looks like the Americans are testing our patience, our unwillingness to plunge into direct confrontation. Especially since the Ukrainian Nazis are very interested in an open conflict between Russia and NATO," Antonov said. "With their terrorist attacks, they are seeking to provoke Russia to take such actions that would affect NATO countries."

"More and more advanced American and NATO weapons are reaching the frontline. This leads to more casualties. This prolongs the conflict. But this will not cardinally change the situation on the ground in favor of the ‘golden billion’ Ukrainian soldiers are being killed for," the Russian diplomat stressed.

According to the US draft federal budget for the 2024 financial year published in March, the US administration plans to increase defense spending by 3.2%, to 842 billion US dollars. In particular, it is planned to allocate six billion US dollars in assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies.