The United States, prolonging the Ukraine conflict, should themselves pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday.
"The [US] administration is fully responsible for what is happening in Ukraine. Therefore, it is the United States that has to rebuild the country," Antonov said in a distributed commentary.
The diplomat added that "the Ukraine conflict is a consequence of years-long and purposeful efforts of the United States to create a hotbed of tension near Russia's borders, to turn Ukraine into an 'anti-Russia'.
He further stressed the US is now fomenting confrontation, "pumping the republic with powerful weapons and nipping any peace initiatives in the bud."
"While they can pay for the homes destroyed by American weapons, how will Washington value the lives of innocent people? How is the US going to repay the Ukrainians whom they are driving into reckless head-on assaults in today's so-called counteroffensive?" Antonov said.
"The particularly striking thing is the ease with which the Americans are spending money on Ukrainian wards. The Pentagon can afford to 'overestimate' the cost of military products supplied to Kiev and make a mistake in calculations by several billion dollars."
The poorest states in Africa, Latin America and Asia have been left without attention against the background of the unprecedented funds sent to purchase weapons for Kiev, the ambassador noted.
"There are places on the planet where people are dying of hunger. At the same time, the United States considers it more urgent to prolong bloodshed and provoke World War III because of the West's de facto involvement in the conflict," Antonov said.
Antonov's latest remarks come as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken detailed that the US would be providing another military aid package to the tune of $1.3 billion, of which large portions are set to be designated for infrastructure and an overhaul of Ukraine's energy grid.
To date, the US has provided upwards of $20 billion in economic and development aid to the Kiev regime.
On Monday, European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand announced that EU representatives, commissioners and legislators would begin discussions on a legal framework in July that would allow confiscation of assets of the Russian citizens and entities accused of violating EU sanctions. EU banks were holding 24.1 billion euros' ($26.3 billion) worth of assets belonging to individuals and private entities, Wigand added.
EU member states have also reported having more than 200 billion euros' worth of Russian Central Bank assets frozen in their banks. The next European Council meeting will consider ways of physically working with the interest on the assets, according to the spokesperson. The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the European Union of stealing the assets.
In 2022, the European Parliament was in recess over the summer holidays from July 25 - August 21 and resumed its operation on August 22.