Moscow: US use of Zelenskyy is 'anti-Russian weapon'

Russia said on Thursday that Ukraine was being used by Washington as an "anti-Russian weapon" following a meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents earlier this week.

The Russia-1 state TV channel reported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said the presidential talks were not always "sunny." On Tuesday when Biden played host to Zelenskyy for a long-sought Oval Office meeting, he tried to reassure him that his administration remains squarely behind the Eastern European nation.

The Ukrainian leader arrived at the White House looking to Biden for increased military aid and backing for his country's bid for NATO membership. In advance of the sit-down, the Biden administration said it was committing up to $60 million in new military aid to Ukraine.

In their private talks, Zelenskyy and Biden discussed Washington's decision not to block the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would carry Russian natural gas directly to Germany, bypassing Ukraine. The pipeline is strongly opposed by Ukraine and Poland as well as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, with Zelenskyy describing it as a powerful geopolitical weapon for Russia.