WASHINGTON, June 22. /TASS/. Supplying weapons to Ukraine, the US is dragging out bloodshed and provoking a third world war, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday answering a media question.
"Particularly striking is the ease with which the Americans squander money on Ukrainian clients," he said. "The Pentagon can afford to ‘overestimate’ the cost of military equipment supplied to Kiev, mistaking its calculations by several billion dollars," Antonov was quoted as saying by the embassy’s press service.
"While unprecedented funds are allocated for the purchase of weapons for the Kiev regime, the poorest states in Africa, Latin America and Asia are left without attention. There are places on the planet where people die of hunger. At the same time, the United States considers it more urgent to prolong the bloodshed and provoke World War III through the West's de-facto involvement in the conflict," the diplomat noted.
US Department of State Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel admitted earlier when asked about the risk of escalation of the conflict over supplies of equipment to Ukraine by the West and Washington’s approval to deliver F-16 jets, that the Western strategy in providing military assistance to Kiev implies boosting the supplies of arms to the Ukrainian army. Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said commenting on supplies of Western arms to Ukraine in an interview with RT that the special military operation started as ensuring Donbass’ security, though it has virtually become a war with the collective West by now.