SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appears at a press conference in Moscow on December 17, 2020. (Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Kremlin Says Russia Now Considers US, European Allies 'Hostile States'
"What they are doing is war," declared Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
May 17, 2022
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow now considers the United States and its European allies "hostile states" as Western governments continue to pour heavy weaponry into Ukraine, which is attempting to beat back Russia's deadly invasion.
The West has also put in place an unprecedented regime of sanctions with the goal of hampering Russia's economy and undermining the country's war machine.
During an event in Moscow on Tuesday, Peskov characterized the ongoing conflict as "a diplomatic war and a political war" between Russia and the Western nations backing Ukraine with economic and military support as well as intelligence.
"There are attempts to isolate us in the world. It's an economic war," said Peskov. "It is true that we keep referring to them mildly as unfriendly states, but I should say that they are hostile states, because what they are doing is war."
Peskov went on to say that "our national money...has been arrested" and assets "have been stolen."
"But we are going to fight for them, of course," he added.
The Kremlin spokesman's remarks came amid mounting fears that the West's response to Russia's illegal and devastating invasion has become a proxy war that could spiral into a direct military conflict between nuclear-armed powers.
Last month, U.S. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin vindicated such fears by declaring that one of the Biden administration's primary objectives in Ukraine is to weaken Russia, further dampening hopes of a diplomatic resolution to the war.
While the Biden administration has insisted it does not want a full-blown war with Russia and has publicly distanced itself from a hawkish Democratic lawmaker who recently said the U.S. is "fundamentally at war" with Russia by proxy, foreign policy analysts and anti-war campaigners argue that the White House is inflaming the conflict by prioritizing arms shipments to Ukraine over peace negotiations.
In a floor speech last week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)--the chamber's second-ranking Democrat--slammed Republican lawmakers for criticizing the Biden administration's energy policies and declared that Congress should "get off this and really focus on the enemy," referring to Russia.
"I know there's a lot of politics here, but we're at war," Hoyer said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow now considers the United States and its European allies "hostile states" as Western governments continue to pour heavy weaponry into Ukraine, which is attempting to beat back Russia's deadly invasion.
The West has also put in place an unprecedented regime of sanctions with the goal of hampering Russia's economy and undermining the country's war machine.
During an event in Moscow on Tuesday, Peskov characterized the ongoing conflict as "a diplomatic war and a political war" between Russia and the Western nations backing Ukraine with economic and military support as well as intelligence.
"There are attempts to isolate us in the world. It's an economic war," said Peskov. "It is true that we keep referring to them mildly as unfriendly states, but I should say that they are hostile states, because what they are doing is war."
Peskov went on to say that "our national money...has been arrested" and assets "have been stolen."
"But we are going to fight for them, of course," he added.
The Kremlin spokesman's remarks came amid mounting fears that the West's response to Russia's illegal and devastating invasion has become a proxy war that could spiral into a direct military conflict between nuclear-armed powers.
Last month, U.S. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin vindicated such fears by declaring that one of the Biden administration's primary objectives in Ukraine is to weaken Russia, further dampening hopes of a diplomatic resolution to the war.
While the Biden administration has insisted it does not want a full-blown war with Russia and has publicly distanced itself from a hawkish Democratic lawmaker who recently said the U.S. is "fundamentally at war" with Russia by proxy, foreign policy analysts and anti-war campaigners argue that the White House is inflaming the conflict by prioritizing arms shipments to Ukraine over peace negotiations.
In a floor speech last week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)--the chamber's second-ranking Democrat--slammed Republican lawmakers for criticizing the Biden administration's energy policies and declared that Congress should "get off this and really focus on the enemy," referring to Russia.
"I know there's a lot of politics here, but we're at war," Hoyer said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow now considers the United States and its European allies "hostile states" as Western governments continue to pour heavy weaponry into Ukraine, which is attempting to beat back Russia's deadly invasion.
The West has also put in place an unprecedented regime of sanctions with the goal of hampering Russia's economy and undermining the country's war machine.
During an event in Moscow on Tuesday, Peskov characterized the ongoing conflict as "a diplomatic war and a political war" between Russia and the Western nations backing Ukraine with economic and military support as well as intelligence.
"There are attempts to isolate us in the world. It's an economic war," said Peskov. "It is true that we keep referring to them mildly as unfriendly states, but I should say that they are hostile states, because what they are doing is war."
Peskov went on to say that "our national money...has been arrested" and assets "have been stolen."
"But we are going to fight for them, of course," he added.
The Kremlin spokesman's remarks came amid mounting fears that the West's response to Russia's illegal and devastating invasion has become a proxy war that could spiral into a direct military conflict between nuclear-armed powers.
Last month, U.S. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin vindicated such fears by declaring that one of the Biden administration's primary objectives in Ukraine is to weaken Russia, further dampening hopes of a diplomatic resolution to the war.
While the Biden administration has insisted it does not want a full-blown war with Russia and has publicly distanced itself from a hawkish Democratic lawmaker who recently said the U.S. is "fundamentally at war" with Russia by proxy, foreign policy analysts and anti-war campaigners argue that the White House is inflaming the conflict by prioritizing arms shipments to Ukraine over peace negotiations.
In a floor speech last week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)--the chamber's second-ranking Democrat--slammed Republican lawmakers for criticizing the Biden administration's energy policies and declared that Congress should "get off this and really focus on the enemy," referring to Russia.
"I know there's a lot of politics here, but we're at war," Hoyer said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.