WASHINGTON, June 13. /TASS/. The West urged Kiev to kill as many Russians as possible in response to Ukraine’s request for assistance following the start of Moscow’s special military operation, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov said.

"We asked, ‘Can we have Stingers?’ "We were told, ‘No, dig trenches and kill as many Russians as you can before it’s over’," the Foreign Affairs magazine quoted him as saying.

On June 8, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev told reporters that the Ukrainian leadership was ready to resolve the conflict with Russia but refused to do so due to pressure from the US. Last week, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said, when commenting on another package of US military aid to the Kiev authorities, that the US administration was unwilling to search for diplomatic ways to settle the conflict in Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. In response, the West imposed major sanctions on Russia. In addition, Western countries started to provide weapons and military equipment to Kiev, whose total value is currently estimated in the billions of dollars.