A senior Russian official has bizarrely accused the UK of helping to “unleash” the war in Ukraine.
Andrei Kelin, who is Moscow’s ambassador to London, also claimed Britain is keeping the conflict “escalated” by providing Kyiv with military and intelligence support.
His comments, reported by the Russian news agency TASS, conveniently ignore the fact that Vladimir Putin started the war by ordering his troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
However, Kelin said an article last week in The Times had revealed the full extent of the UK’s involvement in the war.
In particular, it outlined the support the British military gave Ukraine as it prepared to mount a counter-offensive against Russia two years ago.
Kelin said: “This information did not come as a surprise to us. We have known about it for a long time and have spoken about it publicly.
“Only earlier such statements were presented here as Russian propaganda, and now British journalists themselves are writing about it.”
He added: “Why is London interested in such articles? I think it is important for them to remind themselves and others of their role in unleashing the conflict and keeping it escalated.”
Kelin went on to claim the UK wants to “prevent a peaceful settlement” in the war, despite the fact that it is Russia which has so far rejected Donald Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire.
The ambassador also claimed that parliament’s failure to debate the extent of the UK’s involvement in the war was “a tacit admission that the UK is conducting unannounced hostilities against us”.
Kelin sparked incredulity at the weekend after he told the BBC that Russia wants peace despite its ongoing missile attacks on Ukraine.
He told Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “We have made every effort on the diplomatic field.”
But Kuenssberg said: “Do you expect people to believe that? The point is Russia is continuing brutal and gruesome attacks that are taking the lives of Ukrainian civilians, and there is evidence that you are amassing troops, conscripting thousands of new soldiers to keep fighting this war.”
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