WASHINGTON, February 17. /TASS/. The statements made by a senior State Department official about supporting Ukraine’s strikes on Crimea are a clear confirmation of the fact that the US is directly involved in the conflict, while Moscow regards this position as an undisguised manifestation of Washington’s bellicose attitude towards Russia, according to a commentary by the spokesman for the Russian Embassy in the US Igor Girenko released on Thursday.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said earlier that Washington supported Ukraine’s attacks on military facilities in Crimea. "The statements by a senior State Department official on February 16 about supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces in carrying out strikes on Crimea are a clear confirmation of Russia's position that the United States is directly involved in the conflict. The official admitted that the administration is fueling the ambitions of the Kiev regime to attack our country," the commentary reads.
"Most importantly, this is not just Washington's rhetoric, but concrete actions. The United States is actively supplying Kiev with modern systems that are used to fire on Russian regions. It is advising Ukrainian military leaders. De facto, they plan operations together. As local experts openly admit, Americans participate in aiming weapons [at Russia]," the diplomat pointed out.
"Inciting Kiev criminals to attack Crimea is the same as pushing them to attack Moscow or Vladivostok," he said, adding that the Russian side regards "this position of Washington as an undisguised manifestation of the bellicose attitude of the United States" towards it.
"It should finally become obvious to the entire international community that the United States is the actual instigator of confrontation in Ukraine. However, Washington's attempts to use the Ukrainians to inflict a strategic defeat on us are doomed. No one can have the slightest doubt that Russia will protect its citizens and territory," Girenko stressed.
Nuland said at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace earlier on Thursday that the US considered the military facilities in Crimea legitimate targets for Ukraine’s attacks. Ukraine is hitting them while the US is supporting that, she said, adding that Ukraine was not going to be safe unless Crimea was at a minimum militarized. This is part of ensuring that there is a sustainable deterrent of Russia, Nuland noted.
Following a coup in Ukraine in February 2014, the governments of Crimea and Sevastopol held a referendum to join Russia, in which 96.7% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the reunification treaties on March 18, 2014. The documents were ratified by Russia’s Federal Assembly, or bicameral parliament, on March 21. Despite the overwhelming results of the referendum, Kiev and Washington still refuses to recognize Crimea as part of Russia.