Kremlin Accuses West of Escalating Ukraine Conflict

The Kremlin has accused the United States, NATO, and some European countries of encouraging Ukraine to prolong the conflict with Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims these nations are escalating tensions by allowing Ukraine to use supplied weapons against Russia, which he says will have damaging consequences.

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. 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. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday 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."