The U.S. is seeking to bring Ukraine into its orbit, forcing Russia to respond, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

The U.S. "has no moral right" to criticize Russia over the absorption of Crimea after its actions in the 2003 Iraq war, Shoigu said Thursday at a security conference in Moscow. The U.S. and its allies are trying to contain Russia and frighten neighboring countries into believing that Russia poses a threat, he said.

"In the effort to draw Kiev into its orbit, the United States and its closest allies have crossed all conceivable boundaries, which couldn't fail to prompt our reaction," Shoigu said. "As a result of an unconstitutional change of power, the country was plunged into a civil war. In response to these events, the people of Crimea overwhelmingly made their legitimate choice in favor of a return to Russia."

Russia has cast the yearlong conflict in Ukraine, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives, as a tug-of-war for influence in the region with its former enemy in what has become the worst confrontation since the Cold War between the government in Moscow and the U.S. and European Union. The U.S. and the EU say there's ample evidence that Russia is supplying weapons and troops to help separatists in eastern Ukraine, an allegation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied.

Russia annexed Crimea in March last year after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following months of anti-government protests. Putin accused the U.S. of backing a coup to overthrow the legitimate authorities.