"The Russian special operation aims to put an end to the long-lasting genocide of civilians in Donbass and disarm neo-Nazis in Ukraine. It's time to understand that our country, unlike the United States, is doing everything to stop war crimes," Antonov said, answering media questions published by the Russian Embassy in the US on Telegram.
Commenting on allegations by US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on the responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Russian soldiers, the ambassador said that "such cynical rhetoric of the US Department of State representative is unacceptable."
"Washington should bring charges against itself for destroying cities and killing tens of thousands of people in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The countless atrocities that marked the path of the US-NATO armed interventions are not limited to the recent history," Antonov said.
Earlier in the day, commenting on new sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, which included sanctions against members of the Russian State Duma, Antonov said that the actions are "another example of obscuring the reality."
"The US authorities are trying to punish members of the State Duma for expressing their own position that runs counter to Washington's guidelines," he pointed out. "Legislators defend the national interests of Russia. There is no other way."
According to Antonov, the new sanctions are aimed to "destroy the economy and undermine the political situation" in Russia. "Trampling on their own slogans about freedom of speech and democracy, the US authorities want to gag all dissenters," he added.
The ambassador promised that "serial sanctions strikes" will ultimately fail at achieving their goal.
"The untruth cannot bring the people of Russia to its knees. No one can force us to sacrifice the good of the Motherland for pleasing the will of the United States and its allies," he said.
Antonov called on America to solve its own problems, and not to assert themselves at the expense of Russia.
"It would be good for the US leadership to channel all their determination and uncompromising attitude to addressing the numerous problems of their own country and not assert themselves at the expense of the Russian Federation," he concluded.
A number of countries around the world have introduced new sanctions against Russia due to the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Western sanctions are very serious, but Moscow knew they were coming and prepared in advance. He added that retaliatory measures are being developed in close coordination between various government departments to meet the national interests.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containment and weakening of his administration is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the global economy. According to Putin, the primary goal of the entire culture and society of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people.
Putin also said that the US and the EU had defaulted on their obligations to Russia by freezing its foreign exchange reserves. He added that current events underline the West's global dominance in politics and finance.
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