🎙️ Statement by Ms. Iulia Zhdanova, Head of the Delegation of the Russian Federation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control, at the 1137th meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation

Vienna, May 20, 2026

Subject: «Special Military Operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine»

• We ask our Western colleagues: how does the mantra they repeat time and again about KIev’s so-called “self-defense” align with the unbridled terrorist attacks carried out by the Zelensky regime against the civilian population?
According to data collected and verified by the Office of R.Miroshnik, Special Envoy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over the past week Ukrainian armed formations fired at least 3,619 rounds of ammunition at civilian targets. This resulted in at least 234 victims among the civilians: 203 people were injured, including 18 minors, and 31 people were killed, including 2 children.

•  It’s the NATO and EU member states who bear full responsibility for the above-mentioned crimes committed by the Kiev regime, as they are the ones supplying it with lethal weapons systems in violation of their military and political obligations under the OSCE and international rules on responsible export controls. The formats for supplying weapons and military equipment to the Zelensky regime are multiplying. The United Kingdom and Latvia remain the main suppliers of the so-called “drone coalition,” which is sending various types of UAVs to the Kiev regime. Germany is showing particular interest in joint serial development and production with Ukraine of UAVs with a range of 100 to 1,500 km — with an emphasis on the latter. From May 5, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defense and Space is accepting applications from organizations intending to become founding members of the “EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance.”

•  Blind indulgence of the Ukrainian leadership and rampant Russophobia are creating risks for their own population — a fact that the West is finding increasingly difficult to keep under wraps. In a recent incident, on the night of May 17, a Kiev drone crossed into Latvian airspace, prompting an alert to be declared in five eastern border regions of the country. Wreckage from the UAV, which had not been detected by radar, was discovered on the evening of May 18 in the village of Samane in the Utena district of eastern Lithuania. On May 19, Estonian Defense Minister H. Pevkur stated that Romanian F-16s had neutralized an aerial threat in the form of a Ukrainian Armed Forces UAV between Lake Värtsjärv and the city of Põltsamaa, demanding an apology from Kiev. 

•  A similar destabilizing effect stems from the transfer of technology to the Kiev regime for the creation of a fleet of unmanned boats at sea. V. Zelensky openly reiterated that the relevant developments were obtained from the UK, Norway, and the Netherlands. Is it any wonder, then, that the equipment models mastered by Kiev are now spreading unchecked? For instance, on May 7, in Greece, in the southern part of Lefkada Island in the Ionian Sea, fishermen discovered a Ukrainian unmanned boat, the “Magura V5,” carrying 300 kg of explosives. The Greek media and the public reacted with outrage to the government’s belated and cautious response, accusing officials of covering up the high-profile incident.

•  These trends can only be reversed by putting an end to the militarization of Ukraine and Europe, which is being justified by the fabrication of fictitious scenarios of a Russian attack. However, NATO and EU member states are choosing the path of escalation and preparing for a major war. They are competing to increase their military capabilities. Germany is preparing to become the “strongest army” on the continent by 2039. Poland has set 2030 as its target for this goal. Militaristic trends are also on the rise in Belgium. Lithuania is establishing fortified areas near the Kaliningrad region.