US and NATO directly involved in Ukraine conflict – Lavrov

Washington not only supplies Kiev with weapons but is also training its troops, says the Russian Foreign Minister

The US and NATO are directly participating in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a media conference on Thursday, accusing the West of seeking to completely destroy Russia.

Lavrov pointed out that Washington and its allies have essentially announced to the public that they are not just seeking Russia’s defeat on the battlefield but want it “destroyed altogether as a player.” There is even some discussion on how they could divide up Russian territories among themselves, the diplomat added. 

“Don’t say that the US and NATO are not participating in this war. You are directly involved,” Lavrov stated, noting that the West is not only supplying Kiev with weapons, whose sole purpose is to kill Russians but is also actively training the Ukrainian military in countries like the UK, Germany, and Italy. 

He added that aside from a significant number of mercenaries, there is also an ever-increasing number of Western instructors who are working directly on the ground in Ukraine and are showing troops how to fire the “trinkets” that are being supplied to the country.

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According to a report by CNN, the Biden administration is currently considering a dramatic expansion of the training the US military provides Kiev. The plan could include instructing as many as 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers a month at a base in Germany, the channel claimed, citing multiple US officials.

Washington has already committed close to $20 billion in security assistance to Kiev since the beginning of the conflict in late February. 

Last month, Moscow summoned the British Ambassador to Russia over claims that the UK had provided training to Ukrainian forces that attacked Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea in late October. The British Defense Ministry, however, has denied the allegations.