Russia summons US ambassador over 'increasing involvement' in Ukraine war

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned US ambassador Lynne Tracy over the latter's "increasing involvement " in the Ukraine war.

According to a ministry statement, the US ambassador was handed a diplomatic note of protest, stressing that "pumping" Ukraine's army with weapons, and transferring intelligence for carrying out strikes on Russian territory "proves the inconsistency and falsity of the claims of the American side that the US is not a party to the conflict."

Tracy was told that the current US course on deepening confrontation in all directions is causing harm, and that for de-escalation US and NATO have to withdraw their troops (who are training Ukrainian soldiers), and military equipment from Ukraine.

"The Russian side also stressed that the US should give explanations about the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines and not interfere with an objective investigation to identify the perpetrators," the ministry said.

A number of bilateral issues were also discussed during the meeting, it said.

Tracy has been serving as the US ambassador to Russia since Jan. 9.

The move comes after US President Joe Biden met Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, just days before the first anniversary of Russia’s “special military operation.”

Biden also announced an additional $500 million in US military assistance for Kyiv.