Ex-US Ambassador to NATO: West's actions rallied Russians around Putin

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Former US Ambassador to NATO Robert Hunter said, on Wednesday, that the actions of the United States and NATO --in the last two decades-- increased Russian nationals' support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

In a letter to The Washington Post, Hunter said, "to understand why the bulk of Russian public opinion supports Mr. Putin includes seeing the U.S. and NATO role for what it has been toward Russia’s place in Europe for more than 20 years”. 

“We have to show due respect to the Russian people and provide a valid place in the post-Ukraine-war world to Russia while requiring that it accept the needed strictures and responsibilities, as it is not now doing," he added.

He went on to say that the majority of Russians "are in a 'state of deep resentment towards the West,' believing that it has prevented Russia from regaining great-power status."

The former ambassador recalled that the United States left the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, deployed missile defense systems in Central Europe, and decided at the 2008 NATO Summit that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually join NATO.

The US adds fuel to fire in Ukraine

The US has been Ukraine's top sponsor in its conflict with Moscow, providing the Ukrainian forces with billions of dollars in military and financial aid, as well as intelligence data.

The White House has lately announced that the US will send Ukraine an additional $725 million in weapons and military supplies, adding to a flurry of lethal weapons announcements from European allies this week.

The latest military package from Washington includes more ammunition for HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems), bringing the total US military supplies to Ukraine to $18.3 billion since the start of Joe Biden's administration, as per a separate statement from the US Department of Defense.

Washington’s deliveries to the Zelensky government have included such sophisticated hardware as  HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, M777 howitzers, and combat drones.

Congress approved a $40 billion military package for Ukraine in May. On August 8, the US announced  $1 billion in extra supplies for Ukraine.

Another $775 million were approved on August 19, which constituted then the nineteenth drawdown of equipment from the US department of defense inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.

Last month, during the latest display of Biden's seemingly bottomless provisions of aid to Ukraine, Washington announced it will send another $600 million in military assistance to Ukraine on top of the $675 million package which was announced a week earlier, Biden announced on September 15. 

Meanwhile, Russia has repeatedly criticized the deliveries of weapons to Kiev from Washington and its allies, saying they won’t change the outcome of the conflict but will prolong the fighting and increase the risk of a confrontation between Moscow and NATO.