The United States and NATO bear responsibility for the aggravation of the situation in Donbas because of their refusal to exert influence on Kyiv, Russia’s Permanent Envoy to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich told the OSCE member states on Thursday.

Axar.az reports that this was reported by Russian media.

"According to the current data, over the past days no less than five US military transport planes have arrived in Ukraine. Fanning the flames of belligerent ambitions of ‘hotheads’ in Kyiv, the US and NATO are doing nothing in order to urge Ukrainian authorities to implement what the UN Security Council approved in its Resolution 2202. By doing so, they bear direct responsibility for the aggravation of the situation and the continued violence," he noted at an online meeting of the OSCE permanent council.

According to the diplomat, Russia is seriously concerned by increased drills of NATO units near Ukraine, "the work of various instructors and advisors directly on its territory, as well as deliveries of equipment and arms to Ukraine, including high-technology and destructive lethal weapons.".