Russia criticised US lawmakers’ support for $60.84 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, suggesting that Washington is becoming increasingly involved in a hybrid war against Moscow that will result in a humiliation comparable to the Vietnam or Afghanistan conflicts.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the United States wants Ukraine “to fight to the last Ukrainian,” including launching attacks on Russian sovereign territory and civilians. Zakharova warned that the United States’ deeper involvement in the conflict would lead to a “loud and humiliating fiasco” for the country.
Russia promised to provide a “firm and resolute response” to the US move to increase its involvement in the Ukraine war. Meanwhile, US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns cautioned that without increased US military support, Ukraine could lose on the battlefield, but with support, Kyiv’s forces could hold their own this year.
The US has ruled out sending its own or other NATO troops to Ukraine, which is engaged in a drawn-out artillery and drone conflict with Russia along a heavily fortified 1,000-km (600-mile) front.
The US lost over 58,000 military personnel in the 1955-75 Vietnam War, which ended with Communist North Vietnam’s victory, and more than 2,400 personnel in the 2001-2021 Afghanistan war, which concluded with the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces and the return to power of the Taliban.
The Soviet Union lost more than 14,000 personnel in the 1979-1989 war in Afghanistan, with significant civilian casualties in both conflicts.
Russia currently controls about 18% of Ukraine’s territory in the east and south, gradually gaining ground since the failure of Kyiv’s 2023 counter-offensive. Ukraine has repeatedly requested more aid from the US, but Russian officials maintain that US aid will not alter the war’s course.
Zakharova stated that ordinary Ukrainians are being “forcibly driven to slaughter” as “cannon fodder,” while the US is betting that Ukraine can hold out until the US presidential election in November.
The US legislative package includes measures allowing the seizure of Russian assets frozen by sanctions imposed on Moscow. Zakharova called this “theft” and claimed the primary beneficiaries were US defense companies.
Western and Ukrainian leaders view the conflict as an imperial land grab, characterizing post-Soviet Russia as one of the top two major nation-state threats to global stability, alongside China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin frames the war as part of a broader struggle with the US, alleging that Washington ignored Moscow’s interests after the Soviet Union’s 1991 breakup and sought to exploit Russia’s natural resources.
