Ukraine war: Kremlin accuses Nato of ‘provoking’ Kyiv to prolong conflict with Russia
- The Kremlin said Nato was ‘provoking’ Kyiv into prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, whose leaders are appealing to Western countries to allow it to target Russia
- Russia sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what it called a special military operation, Kyiv says it’s defending itself – with Western help
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The Kremlin said on Thursday that the United States, Nato and some European countries were encouraging Ukraine to continue what it called Kyiv’s “senseless war” with Russia and accused them of escalating tensions in recent weeks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused some Western countries of raising tensions in recent weeks by allowing Ukraine to use weapons they had supplied against targets inside Russia, something the United States has not publicly agreed to do yet.
“The member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance – the United States in particular, other European capitals – have in recent days and weeks embarked on a new round of escalation,” Peskov told reporters.
“They are doing this deliberately. We hear a lot of bellicose statements. … They are encouraging Ukraine in every possible way to continue this senseless war,” he said.
“This will all, of course, inevitably have consequences and will ultimately be very damaging to the interests of those countries that have taken the path of escalation.”
The comments came as Nato foreign ministers were convening in Prague in the face of growing calls for leading allies to lift restrictions stopping Kyiv from using Western weapons to strike inside Russia.
Ukraine has been pressing its supporters – chiefly the United States – to allow it to use the longer-range weaponry they supply to hit targets inside Russia.
The United States and Germany have so far refused to permit Kyiv to strike over the border out of fear that it could drag them closer to direct conflict with Moscow.
Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what it called a special military operation, and Kyiv says it is defending itself – with Western help – in an effort to expel all Russian forces from its territory.
It says Russia is working hard to try to undermine its morale and will to fight.
