It remains unclear if the use of the word signals an official policy change, as the spokesman had previously argued that only President Vladimir Putin can make such decisions.

Washington’s refusal to allow former US marine, UN weapons inspector and RT contributor Scott Ritter to travel to St. Petersburg was “the latest manifestation of the rabid campaign to prevent US citizens from interacting with the Russian Federation” – which would only be “understandable” if it was somehow related to his former intelligence status, Peskov told journalists on Tuesday.

“We are now an enemy country for them – much like they are for us,” Peskov added, while acknowledging that restrictions applying to former intelligence officers, especially on travel “to a hostile country,” are common across the world.

The Kremlin previously called the United States and other Western countries that have supported and armed Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow as “unfriendly states” or “opponents”.

The shift in language follows Washington’s decision to let Kiev use American-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia, beyond what the US considers Ukrainian territory.

In March, Peskov noted that Moscow objects to US officials who insult President Putin, but that in general there is “no anti-American sentiment” in Russia. He expressed hope that “sooner or later the realization that the peoples of America and Russia are not enemies will eventually come”.

Putin said in January that the elites of Western countries were the true enemy of Russia, while Ukraine is a mere tool in their hands.

“The point is not that they are helping our enemy, but that they are our enemy,” the Russian president stated, arguing that the conflict between Moscow and Kiev was orchestrated by Western elites who seek to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia.

Last month, Putin reiterated that “the entire Western community is working for our enemy, dreaming about Russia ceasing to exist in its current form”, but stopped short of branding any particular Western state an ‘enemy’.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, and several other hawkish officials, have repeatedly branded Moscow’s adversaries as “enemies” over the past two years – but Peskov previously said that only President Putin can “formulate and state Russia’s official foreign policy position”.

The proposal comes as Washington and its G7 allies – the UK, Canada, France, Italy, and Japan – are seeking ways to urgently unlock more funding for Kiev, Yellen told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

According to Yellen, the US has been discussing with other G7 members the possibility of giving Ukraine a loan “allowing the windfall profits [from Russian assets] to be used” to pay it off. This approach, she said, “seems to be commanding considerable support.”

The flow of windfall profits earned on the immobilized Russian assets amounts to around $3-$5 billion per year, the treasury secretary added.

“So we’re hopeful that this can be worked into something to be presented to the leaders at the upcoming G7 meeting [in Italy in mid-June].”

The West has frozen roughly $300 billion in Russian sovereign funds since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear holds around €191 billion ($207 billion) of that amount, and has accrued nearly €4.4 billion ($4.7 billion) in interest over the past year.

The US has been pushing its allies to embrace a loan backed by income from the frozen assets that could provide Ukraine with as much as $50 billion in near-term funding, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a senior Treasury official.

Brent Neiman, deputy under-secretary for international finance at the Treasury, told the outlet that the proposed measure would give an immediate fiscal boost to Kiev, although there were still technical issues to be worked out.

The loan has emerged as the top option given that G7 countries remain at odds over seizing Russian assets outright.

The US had initially pushed for full confiscation of underlying assets in order to fund Ukraine’s government. However, it has since shifted towards taking only the interest amid resistance from France, Germany, and the European Central Bank, which are concerned that the euro could be affected if countries such as China start repatriating their massive foreign reserves as a precaution against possible confiscation in the future.

Russia has announced any actions taken against its assets would amount to theft and would violate international law. Moscow has warned it would respond in kind if the West went through with threats to confiscate Russian assets.