China's ambassador to Russia calls US "initiator and main instigator" of Russia's war on Ukraine

The Chinese ambassador said this in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS, Reuters cites.

Zhang Hanhui said that Washington is "backing Russia into a corner with repeated expansions of the NATO defence alliance and support for forces seeking to align Ukraine with the European Union rather than Moscow."

"As the initiator and main instigator of the Ukrainian crisis, Washington, while imposing unprecedented comprehensive sanctions on Russia, continues to supply arms and military equipment to Ukraine. Their ultimate goal is to exhaust and crush Russia with a protracted war and the cudgel of sanctions," he added.

The publication noted that the ambassador's words are similar to one of Russia's justifications for its invasion of Ukraine, which led to thousands of deaths and the devastation of entire cities, as well as forced more than a quarter of the population to leave their homes.

Russia considered China as an ally after the West imposed sanctions against it.