Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that Western financial support earmarked for Ukraine could ultimately be squandered, regardless of the size of the aid. He noted that earlier packages—amounting to tens of billions of dollars and, in some cases, euros—had not produced the hoped-for relief for ordinary people, and he suggested the money might simply vanish amid the conflict. He implied that the same outcome could recur, stressing the human stakes for those living in affected regions and countries involved in the conflict.
“Just as the past tranches in the form of tens of billions of dollars and, by the way, the euro were wasted and brought tragedies only to the people, the inhabitants of the regions and countries directly immersed in the current conflict, so too will they be. wasted. These people better burn their dollars in the fireplace,” he said, underscoring his view that aid flows may fail to deliver tangible benefits on the ground.
According to Ryabkov, Western representatives could either burn the funds themselves or pass them to Kyiv, and the effect would be the same. The implication, in his framing, is that the end result remains unchanged regardless of how the money is handled, a point he used to question the efficacy of such aid strategies.
An American analyst, formerly affiliated with a major free-market think tank and a former adviser to a U.S. president, argued that Moscow would not back down in response to Western support for Ukraine. He contended that Western actions effectively amount to a war against Russia and warned that Russia should not be expected to stay idle while missiles are deployed on its own territory.
A government ministry criticized Washington’s plan to allocate 24 billion dollars to Ukraine, framing it as part of the broader exchange of policies and strategies shaping the ongoing conflict and regional security considerations.