Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that the West is promoting a campaign of “Russophobia” in relation to the war in Ukraine, accusing European countries and the United States, as well as the media to support “extremist” ideas.
“There is an international campaign of Russophobia that has been carried out on us, with very negative results. The day before yesterday, a truck hit the Russian embassy in Ireland, and we saw anti-Russian signs in Paris and other cities,” she said.
“There is no guarantee that this atmosphere of psychosis for Russians will not result in the steps of local nationalists,” he added. “This artificially created hysteria in the media has an effect on people. Civilians will suffer, because this virus of nationalism, Nazism and extremism is very easy to tackle.”
At the press conference, Maria Zakharova also stated that “armed groups will be destroyed”, referring to the Ukrainian forces that have been receiving weapons to fight the Russians since the so-called “special military operation”, as Russia calls it, began.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin says it has also acted to combat a “genocide” waged by paramilitary groups in the breakaway Donbas regions of eastern Ukraine – which were recognized as independent by the Russians prior to the military incursion.
Furthermore, Zakharova said that Russia has never threatened NATO and does not threaten the Western alliance now, adding that her country has yet to react to NATO’s “confrontational course”.
The buildup of NATO military forces on its eastern flank was “provocative in nature” and was not helping to safeguard security in Europe, the spokeswoman said.
Russia cites ‘biological programs’ used in Ukraine
Maria Zakharova also demanded transparency from Washington over an allegation — which Kiev denies and which a Pentagon spokesperson described as “absurd” — of US-funded “military biological programs”.
“We confirm facts, unearthed as part of special military operations, that witness an emergency attempt to erase evidence of military biological programs,” Zakharova told reporters.
“We’re not talking about peaceful uses or scientific goals here,” Zakharova said. “What were you doing there?” she declared. “These (programs) were funded by the US Department of Defense.”
In response to previous Russian allegations about the alleged military biological program in Ukraine, a Pentagon spokesperson said: “This absurd Russian disinformation is patently false.” A Ukrainian presidential spokesman said that “Ukraine strictly denies any such allegations”.
“The US Department of Defense and the US presidential administration are obliged to explain officially to the global community, officially, and not through head-to-head conversations, about the programs in Ukraine,” Zakharova said.
“We demand details,” she said. “We demand and the world waits”.
*With information from Reuters and CNN
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
