MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. The US authorities have never asked their own citizens whether they wanted to provide military aid to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik radio.
"A large part of [American] society wanted neither to support [the policy of pumping aid to Ukraine] nor to somehow identify with the cause, associate themselves with it or take part in it. They were literally forced into it all, even though [some of them] resisted it to the last," the diplomat said, commenting on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s latest visit to the US. "No one asked them about it, not when it all began or in the course [of unfolding developments in Ukraine]; no one bothered to ask them any questions or conduct any vote [on the issue]," she added.
According to Zakharova, US President Joe Biden simply informed the American people of what his administration planned to do as a fait accompli. "This is the same Democratic [Party] team that initiated this entire story that began with the Maidan [protests and street violence in Kiev] back in 2013-2014. Its members are the same; it’s Biden and [Under Secretary of State Victoria] Nuland again," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman noted. "They started it all back then but had to take a four-year break when [Donald] Trump came [to power]; however, after they got him out of the White House, they went back to the same concept, but in a more frenzied manner," Zakharova said. "No one has asked the [American] people over these years. When Biden ran for president [in 2020], they didn’t say anything indicating that they were going to make [such a mess]," the diplomat pointed out.
Zakharova also commented on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement that about 90% of the US funds ostensibly allocated for military aid to Ukraine had in fact been invested in the US defense industry. "So this was your plan to revive the US economy? Then why didn’t you say it straight away? What did you need the Kiev regime for if the initial plan was to ensure investment in the US economy?" the diplomat asked rhetorically.
Zelensky is currently on a trip to Washington. He visited the US Congress on Tuesday to meet with a bipartisan group of senators and House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican, Louisiana). He also held talks with Biden.