Putin castigates Washington for trying to prolong Russia, Ukraine war

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday accused Washington of delaying war in Ukraine as explosions rocked a Russian military installation in the Kremlin-controlled Crimean peninsula.

The first UN-chartered vessel loaded with grain has left Ukraine for Africa after Turkey and the UN struck a deal to ease a global food crisis.

“The situation in Ukraine shows that the United States is trying to prolong this conflict,” Putin said at the opening ceremony of a security conference in Moscow.

Washington “is using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder”, he said, blaming the United States for supplying weapons to Kyiv.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February, expecting little military resistance and hoping for a whirlwind takeover that would topple Kyiv’s government within hours.

However, after the Russian army failed to capture the capital, they instead engaged in a long battle of attrition with the sprawling front line to the east and south.

The United States has provided significant economic and military support to Kyiv, including providing Ukraine with long-range precision artillery that has enabled it to attack Russian supply facilities deep in Moscow-controlled territory.

Huge balls of fire erupted early Tuesday at the Crimea site where munitions were temporarily stored, and plumes of black smoke rose into the air, footage on social media showed.

The Defense Ministry said the fire broke out around 6:15 a.m. local time (0315 GMT) at a temporary military camp near the village of Mayskoye in Dzhankoi district and detonated ammunition.

Tuesday’s blasts come a week after similar blasts at a Russian air base in Crimea killed at least one person and injured five others.

Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for any of the incidents in Crimea, but senior officials and the military have indicated Ukrainian involvement.