Russia responds to US fact sheets on Ukraine
The Russian Ministry describes the fact sheets presented by the US on Russia's alleged disinformation on the Ukrainian crisis as a "propaganda bulletin".
Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the fact sheets prepared by the US State Department on Russia's alleged disinformation on the Ukrainian crisis are just another propaganda bulletin.
On Thursday, the US State Department issued two fact sheets alleging that Russia was spreading disinformation to paint Ukraine as an aggressor and to blame the West for pushing Kyiv into a conflict with Moscow.
The fact sheets claimed that Russia used chemical weapons against its adversaries at least twice in recent years and that since 2014, the US has provided humanitarian aid worth more than $351 million to the affected in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry compared Western allegations of Moscow's planning to "invade" Ukraine with the false allegations that Washington used to justify its 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov considered that the US documents did not withstand the slightest criticism, since no specific facts to support the allegations were presented.
This comes as the US Embassy in Kyiv announced Friday that the US has delivered 90,7 tonnes of lethal aid to Ukraine in a new "military assistance initiative" overseen by US President Joe Biden.
The first shipment of assistance recently directed by President Biden to Ukraine arrived in Ukraine tonight. This shipment includes close to
— U.S. Embassy Kyiv (@USEmbassyKyiv) January 22, 2022
200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including ammunition for the front line defenders of Ukraine. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/YeYanK0Px6
On her Telegram channel, Zakharova wrote, "On the eve of the Russian-US meeting in Geneva, the US State Department published another propaganda bulletin about Russian policy 'in the Ukrainian direction.'"
According to the spokesperson, the fact sheets were created on the basis of individual stories taken out of context and had nothing to do with reality.
"It was executed in a primitive way as it has always been with our partners in recent decades," she added.
In the past few months, the West and Ukraine have accused Russia of massing troops near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion.
Moscow said it has no intention of invading Ukraine while stressing that it has the right to move forces within its own territory.
It has also expressed concern over NATO's military activity near its borders and the ongoing military support for Ukraine, including an increase in the number of Western instructors in Donbas.