Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polanski stated on Thursday that US military bases in Syria are being utilized to extract and smuggle Syrian oil.

"US military bases built in Syria as a result of the West's aggression against this country are used inter alia to pump out and smuggle Syrian oil - essentially to steal it," Polyanskiy said during a UN meeting on terrorism.

Polanskiy added that the areas seized and occupied by the US military have resulted in the creation of a "real terrorist ghetto" around their bases.

"The situation in these places is nothing but a humanitarian and food crisis," he further said.

Read more: Russia, Syria adhere to principles, confront same enemies: al-Assad

The US has been for years supporting the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias, and the US-backed forces are currently occupying parts of the provinces of al-Hasakah, Deir Ezzor, and Raqqa, where the largest Syrian oil and gas fields are located.

With the assistance of these groups, the US frequently loots Syrian oil and transports it to neighboring bases located in Iraq. 

On May 16, the US-led coalition began a new repositioning process in Syria, roughly two and a half years after former President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria, which he later retracted and deployed instead his oil-thirsty occupation forces in areas where oil and gas fields are found. 

Syrian civilians have long been resisting the US occupation of their country, with locals preventing US military convoys from entering their cities and villages all over Syria.

Recent reports from the US State Department have revealed that the US has openly acknowledged that the SDF is forcibly recruiting child soldiers to fight against the government in Damascus. 

Read more: US occupation loots most of Syria’s oil: Ministry