07:42The United States is not only waging a 'hybrid war' against Russia, but is directly involved in the hostilities in some cases, claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press briefing following the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
"The Ukrainians would not be able to fight without American weapons and, let us add, without American instructors and gunners, without American data from satellites and other sources. It is a fact that the Americans are fighting against us not only in a hybrid way, but in some cases directly. That is why we are always ready to negotiate. We never gave up on anything," said the minister.
Lavrov also called the situation around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a 'disgrace to Western democracy'.
"These people have no right to interfere in our internal affairs. Especially since they themselves have such a log in their eye with Julian Assange, Gonzalo Lira, who died after being tortured in a Ukrainian prison. <...> When journalists persistently question the Americans about him during briefings, they openly declare that he is not a journalist, but a criminal who has violated numerous laws, including recruiting someone in the US military. As you all know, he was revealing to the global public the truth about, I agree, the classified actions of the American special services and military, but these actions were in flagrant violation of American laws, including the Constitution," he said.
London's High Court started a two-day hearing of Julian Assange's appeal to revoke the extradition warrant on Tuesday.
In April 2022 London's Westminster Magistrates' Court issued an extradition warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, which was approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Assange has been held in the UK's Belmarsh Prison since his arrest in April 2019, following the revocation of his asylum status at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
The US case against Assange stems from WikiLeaks' publication of numerous US government and diplomatic documents since 2006. In the United States, he could face charges of espionage as well as conspiring to commit computer intrusion, with prosecution asking for a 175-year prison sentence.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
US fighting Russia 'not only in a hybrid way, but in some cases directly' - Lavrov
The United States is not only waging a 'hybrid war' against Russia, but is directly involved in the hostilities in some cases, claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press briefing following the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
"The Ukrainians would not be able to fight without American weapons and, let us add, without American instructors and gunners, without American data from satellites and other sources. It is a fact that the Americans are fighting against us not only in a hybrid way, but in some cases directly. That is why we are always ready to negotiate. We never gave up on anything," said the minister.
Lavrov also called the situation around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a 'disgrace to Western democracy'.
"These people have no right to interfere in our internal affairs. Especially since they themselves have such a log in their eye with Julian Assange, Gonzalo Lira, who died after being tortured in a Ukrainian prison. <...> When journalists persistently question the Americans about him during briefings, they openly declare that he is not a journalist, but a criminal who has violated numerous laws, including recruiting someone in the US military. As you all know, he was revealing to the global public the truth about, I agree, the classified actions of the American special services and military, but these actions were in flagrant violation of American laws, including the Constitution," he said.
London's High Court started a two-day hearing of Julian Assange's appeal to revoke the extradition warrant on Tuesday.
In April 2022 London's Westminster Magistrates' Court issued an extradition warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, which was approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Assange has been held in the UK's Belmarsh Prison since his arrest in April 2019, following the revocation of his asylum status at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
The US case against Assange stems from WikiLeaks' publication of numerous US government and diplomatic documents since 2006. In the United States, he could face charges of espionage as well as conspiring to commit computer intrusion, with prosecution asking for a 175-year prison sentence.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
The United States is not only waging a 'hybrid war' against Russia, but is directly involved in the hostilities in some cases, claimed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press briefing following the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
"The Ukrainians would not be able to fight without American weapons and, let us add, without American instructors and gunners, without American data from satellites and other sources. It is a fact that the Americans are fighting against us not only in a hybrid way, but in some cases directly. That is why we are always ready to negotiate. We never gave up on anything," said the minister.
Lavrov also called the situation around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a 'disgrace to Western democracy'.
"These people have no right to interfere in our internal affairs. Especially since they themselves have such a log in their eye with Julian Assange, Gonzalo Lira, who died after being tortured in a Ukrainian prison. <...> When journalists persistently question the Americans about him during briefings, they openly declare that he is not a journalist, but a criminal who has violated numerous laws, including recruiting someone in the US military. As you all know, he was revealing to the global public the truth about, I agree, the classified actions of the American special services and military, but these actions were in flagrant violation of American laws, including the Constitution," he said.
London's High Court started a two-day hearing of Julian Assange's appeal to revoke the extradition warrant on Tuesday.
In April 2022 London's Westminster Magistrates' Court issued an extradition warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, which was approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Assange has been held in the UK's Belmarsh Prison since his arrest in April 2019, following the revocation of his asylum status at the Ecuadorian Embassy.
The US case against Assange stems from WikiLeaks' publication of numerous US government and diplomatic documents since 2006. In the United States, he could face charges of espionage as well as conspiring to commit computer intrusion, with prosecution asking for a 175-year prison sentence.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.