The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lacks understanding that the West does not need a strong Ukraine – and that is a catastrophe of statehood.
“The public misunderstanding by the President of Ukraine that the West does not need a strong country, along with his reasoning about why money is given out only under the conditions for Kiev to carry out reforms – this is a catastrophe of [the Ukrainian] statehood,” she wrote in her Telegram channel.
Western states have recently expressed concern about Russia’s allegedly dangerous actions near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and does not intend to attack anyone, and claims of “Russian aggression” are used as an excuse to place more NATO military equipment near Russian borders.
Unsubstantiated claims that Russia is preparing provocations continue to come from the West, despite the return of Russian troops to their places of deployment after the exercises. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. At a meeting with Putin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry reported that “some of the exercises are coming to an end, some will be completed in the near future.”
The Southern and Western military districts of the Russian Federation have begun returning troops to their places of deployment, Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, told reporters on Tuesday.
Russia has also repeatedly stressed that it is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine and is not a subject of the Minsk settlement agreements.