MOSCOW — On Sunday, Russia expressed its views on the U.S. lawmakers’ decision to support an additional $60.84 billion in aid for Ukraine. The Russian government believes that this move indicates Washington’s deeper involvement in a hybrid war against Moscow, which they predict will result in a humiliating defeat similar to the Vietnam or Afghanistan conflicts.
According to both Russian and U.S. diplomats, President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has sparked the most severe deterioration in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
The U.S. House of Representatives, on Saturday, approved a $95 billion legislative package with wide bipartisan support. This package is intended to provide security assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, despite strong opposition from some far-right Republicans.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, stated that it was evident that the United States wanted Ukraine “to fight to the last Ukrainian,” including launching attacks on Russian sovereign territory and civilians.
Zakharova warned, “Washington’s deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into a loud and humiliating fiasco for United States such as Vietnam and Afghanistan.” She further added that Russia would respond “unconditionally and resolutely” to the U.S.’s increased involvement in the Ukraine war.
Last week, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns cautioned that without additional U.S. military support, Ukraine could lose on the battlefield. However, with the necessary support, Kyiv’s forces could potentially hold their own this year.
The United States has consistently refused to send its own or other NATO-member troops to Ukraine, which is currently engaged in a grueling artillery and drone war with Russia along a heavily fortified 600-mile front.
Washington’s deeper and deeper immersion in the hybrid war against Russia will turn into a loud and humiliating fiasco for United States such as Vietnam and Afghanistan.
–Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
The Vietnam War (1955-75) resulted in the loss of more than 58,000 U.S. military personnel and ended with Communist North Vietnam’s victory and takeover of the South, while hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed. The war in Afghanistan (2001-2021) reported 2,459 U.S. casualties and over 20,000 wounded. The conflict ended with the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces and the return to power of the Islamist Taliban movement. The Soviet Union lost 14,453 personnel in the 1979-1989 war in Afghanistan. Civilian deaths in both the wars in Afghanistan were vast.
The War in Ukraine
Currently, Russia controls approximately 18% of Ukraine — primarily in the east and south of its neighbor. Despite Kyiv’s 2023 counter-offensive, Russia has been gradually gaining ground, with its troops entrenched behind minefields patrolled by drones and guarded by heavy artillery.
For months, Ukraine has been pleading with the United States for more financial aid and weapons to aid its fight. However, Russian officials maintain that U.S. aid will not alter the ultimate outcome of the war.
Zakharova stated that ordinary Ukrainians were being “forcibly driven to slaughter as “cannon fodder.” She also suggested that the United States was no longer betting on a Ukrainian victory against Russia. Instead, Washington was hoping Ukraine could hold on until the U.S. presidential election in November.
The U.S. legislative package includes measures that would enable the U.S. to seize billions of dollars worth of Russian assets frozen by sanctions imposed on Moscow. Zakharova labeled this as “theft,” adding that the true beneficiaries of the entire package were U.S. defense companies.
The leaders of the West and Ukraine have portrayed the war in Ukraine as an imperial-style land-grab, indicating that post-Soviet Russia is one of the top two biggest nation-state threats to global stability, alongside China.
Putin presents the war as part of a broader struggle with the U.S., which he accuses of disregarding Moscow’s interests following the Soviet Union’s 1991 break-up and then conspiring to divide Russia and seize its natural resources.
The West denies any intention to destroy Russia, which in turn denies any plans to invade any NATO member state.
Good punctuation and grammar, agree
The comparison between the US experience in Ukraine and the Vietnam War is valid, as both conflicts have showcased the limitations of US military intervention.
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