Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, said in an interview that the U.S. has been grooming Ukraine for years to fight Moscow in hopes of “inflicting a strategic defeat” on the country. 

Lavrov noted that the U.S. continues to send billions in weapons and is considering sending long-range ATACMS. 

“They are sending weapons, ammunition, intelligence, and satellite data,” Lavrov told Russian reporter Pavel Zarubin, according to RT. “They are waging war against us.”

“No matter what they say, they [the U.S.] control this war,” he said.

Newsweek noted that the U.S. has provided Ukraine with $43.7 billion in military weapons since the start of the war. A Pentagon spokesman was asked about Lavrov’s claim, and told the magazine: “The U.S. is not at war with Russia, nor do we seek a war between NATO and Russia.”

“Moreover, Russia can de-escalate the situation right now by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine. The U.S. stands firmly with Ukraine in its fight for democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” the spokesman said. 

TRENDPOST: Readers of The Trends Journal know that the U.S. has been providing Ukraine with advanced weapons and intelligence. There is also an unspecified number of special operations forces operating in Ukraine under the auspices of protecting the embassy and tracking weapons. (See “U.S. AT WAR WITH RUSSIA: PENTAGON APPROVES DANGER PAY FOR FORCES SERVING IN UKRAINE” 1 Aug 2023, “WWIII: BIDEN ORDERS 3,000 RESERVISTS TO BE READY FOR EUROPEAN DEPLOYMENT,” 18 Jul 2023, “U.S. AT WAR WITH RUSSIA: UKRAINIAN MILITIAS USE AMERICAN VEHICLES IN ATTACK IN RUSSIA” 30 May 2023, “RFK JR. AGREES WITH CELENTE: U.S. PUSHED RUSSIA INTO UKRAINE WAR” 9 May 2023, “AS WE’VE WARNED: RUSSIA SAYS THREAT OF NUCLEAR EXCHANGE WITH U.S. GROWING” 25 Apr 2023, and “RUSSIA: U.S. CONDUCTING ‘TOTAL’ HYBRID WAR, PUTTING TWO NUCLEAR POWERS ON PATH TO CLASH” 14 Feb 2023.)

The U.S.’s position on the war seems to be evolving and becoming more assertive by the week. 

Antony Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, recently showed an apparent policy shift in Washington. While the Biden administration used to shy away from Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia—while using U.S. equipment—he now said the decision rests with Kyiv.

Blinken was asked in an interview about the possibility of Ukraine targeting Russian assets deep inside the country using ACTACMS and he said, “In terms of their targeting decision, it’s their decisions, not ours.”