Russia has accused the US of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine

Russia accused the United States of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, saying the Americans shared intelligence with Ukrainian forces.

Moscow based the accusations on the comments of Vadim Skibitsky, head of Ukrainian paramilitary intelligence. Guided by better satellite imagery and real-time information, Kiev used US-supplied long-range rockets, the Himars.

Skibitsky said in an interview with a British newspaper that Ukrainian intelligence officials consulted with their American counterparts before using the Himars. In addition, Washington has veto power over target targets. However, the deputy intelligence chief stressed that US officials had not provided direct information about the targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the interview showed the United States was directly involved in the war, despite repeated accusations that its role in the conflict was limited to supplying weapons because it did not want a direct confrontation with Moscow.

“All this irrefutably proves that, contrary to the claims of the White House and the Pentagon, Washington is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

“Govt [do presidente Joe] “Biden bears direct responsibility for all Kiev-sanctioned rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in populated areas of the Donbass and other regions, resulting in massive civilian casualties,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House Defense Department or the Pentagon to the allegations, according to news outlets.

According to Russian state media RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “There is no need to further confirm the direct involvement of the United States in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. The delivery of weapons is not only accompanied by instructions on their use, but in this case, they fulfill the function of snipers in their purest form.