🎙 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a question from RIA Novosti regarding allegations that Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum (February 24, 2026)

❓ Question: Zelensky has repeatedly claimed that by launching the special military operation, Russia violated the Budapest Memorandum. However, the head of the Kiev regime forgets that by enshrining NATO membership as a constitutional objective and engaging in military-technical cooperation with the North Atlantic Alliance, Ukraine itself violated, inter alia, the Budapest Memorandum. Could you elaborate on the groundlessness of Ukraine’s accusations and on other documents it has breached?

💬 Maria Zakharova: To answer this question, let us recall that the Budapest Memorandum – or the Memorandum on security assurances in connection with Ukraine’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – is an act that does not constitute an international treaty. It was signed on December 5, 1994 by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, the US and the UK.

Under this document, Ukraine agreed to transfer to Russia the portion of the former Soviet nuclear arsenal located on its territory and to become a fully non-nuclear state. In turn, Russia, the US and the UK provided security assurances to Ukraine.

It should also be recalled that, simultaneously with the Memorandum, a joint statement was adopted in Budapest by the leaders of Russia, the UK, the US and Ukraine. Among other things, it reaffirmed the importance of #OSCE commitments aimed at countering the rise of aggressive nationalism and chauvinism. It is evident that the Ukrainian side failed to fulfil these commitments and for many years tolerated the growth of highly aggressive nationalism.

At the OSCE summit in Budapest in 1994, and during related events on its margins, Russia did not undertake any obligation to compel part of Ukraine to remain within its composition against the will of the local population. The provisions of the Budapest Memorandum do not apply to circumstances arising from internal political or socio-economic factors.

❗️ Thus, Ukraine’s loss of territorial integrity was the result of complex internal processes to which Russia and its obligations under the Budapest Memorandum bear no relation. Accordingly, there can be no question of any violation of the Budapest Memorandum by Russia.

At the same time, Russia and Ukraine were bound by a more significant legal instrument – the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between the Russian Federation and Ukraine – which Ukraine systematically violated prior to the launch of the special military operation.

For many years, the Ukrainian leadership pursued a policy of gross and systematic breaches of this Treaty, which should be qualified as a refusal to comply with its provisions. This, in particular, ultimately led to the decision of the Russian leadership to begin the special military operation.

Ukraine’s strategic course toward acquiring full NATO membership was enshrined at the constitutional level, effectively violating Article 6 of the Treaty. At that moment, Ukraine officially renounced one of the foundations of its international recognition in the 1990s – its neutral and non-aligned status – thereby also breaching the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.

❗️NATO's unchecked geopolitical expansion up to our borders, including Ukraine, became one of the root causes of the conflict. Without addressing this, a settlement is impossible.

When accusing Russia of violating the Budapest Memorandum, they somehow fail to recall the long-standing sabotage of this fundamental bilateral Russian-Ukrainian document.

☝️ The above facts – as well as many others – demonstrate that the goals and objectives of the special military operation remain relevant and will be fulfilled, as repeatedly stated by the Russian leadership.

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⚡️ Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation:

The Press Bureau of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR) reports that, according to intelligence received by the SVR, the UK and France are aware that the situation developing in Ukraine leaves no chances for them to achieve the ardently desired victory over Russia with the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces.

However, British and French elites are not ready to accept defeat. It is believed that Ukraine should be supplied with a “Wunderwaffe”. Kiev would be able to aspire to more advantageous terms of ceasing the hostilities if it possesses a nuclear or at least a so-called “dirty” bomb. Berlin has prudently refused to take part in this dangerous venture.

At present, according to the information available to the SVR, London and Paris are actively working over the issue of providing Kiev with a weapon of this kind, as well as with means of its delivery. This involves a covert transfer of relevant European-made components, equipment and technologies to Ukraine.

❗️ As an option, the French small-size TN-75 warhead from the M51.1 submarine-launched ballistic missile is being considered.

The British and French realize that their designs imply a gross violation of the international law, first and foremost the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and carry the risk of destroying the global non-proliferation system. Consequently, the Westerners’ main efforts are focused on making Kiev’s possession of nuclear weapon look like it was developed by Ukrainians themselves.

These extremely dangerous plans of London and Paris prove that they have lost touch with reality. Their hopes to escape from responsibility are baseless, especially bearing in mind that there is nothing hidden that will not eventually be disclosed. In the military, political and diplomatic circles there are plenty of sober-minded people understanding that reckless actions of their leaders pose a threat to the entire world.

⚡️ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's statement on the four-year mark since the start of the special military operation (February 24, 2026)

💬 Four years ago – on 24 February 2022 – the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, pursuant to the decision of President Vladimir Putin and in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, launched the special military operation (SMO). Its objectives are to eliminate threats emanating from territories controlled by the Kiev regime, and to ensure the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. All actions are carried out in strict compliance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which enshrines the right to individual and collective self-defence.

This forced step was preceded by eight long years, during which Russia made responsible efforts to facilitate a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict in Donbass, which followed the Western-orchestrated, financed and organized armed coup in February 2014. Those who refused to submit to the diktat of the “Maidan victors” – millions of civilians in Donbass and Novorossiya – were subjected to systematic persecution.

By 2022, the number of civilian victims of the armed conflict in Donbass had exceeded 13,500.

❗️A massive anti-Russian propaganda campaign was unleashed with the sole purpose of convincing the world that Russians – and all those who consider themselves part of the wider Russian world – allegedly have no right to preserve their national and cultural identity, neither in Ukraine nor elsewhere.

Since 2014, with Western assistance, Ukraine underwent active militarization and military development of its territory as a potential theatre of operations against Russia, creating threats comparable to those against our country’s very existence. Together with NATO’s unrestrained expansion, this led to a profound security crisis in Europe. Russia sought to make itself heard in Washington and Brussels, persistently and at length explaining where and why our “red lines” lay.

Russia’s proposals to provide legally binding security guarantees – including non-expansion of NATO eastwards – were ignored.

Serious concern was also caused by Zelensky’s public statements at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022 regarding claims to nuclear weapons, which created real risks for Russia and for strategic stability as a whole. In doing so, three fundamental pillars of Ukrainian statehood – its neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status, which ensured its international recognition in the early 1990s – were undermined.

The timeliness and validity of the decision taken by the Russian leadership in 2022 to launch the SMO are confirmed by the continuing descent of territories controlled by the Kiev regime into open neo-Nazi extremism.

Among other things, the SMO exposed the Western plans, led by the Anglo-Saxons, to impose upon the international community a so-called “rules-based order”, the sole purpose of which is to secure and maintain Western hegemony. Today, many – including in the West – recognize the flawed and unrealistic nature of this geopolitical venture.

In pursuing the objectives of the SMO, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are courageously making an invaluable contribution to strengthening regional and international stability. Our country is actively engaging in dialogue with all interested partners on the creation of a system of equal and indivisible Eurasian security. We are convinced that this will also be facilitated by resolving the Ukrainian crisis with due regard for Russia’s legitimate interests.

☝️ All the objectives of the special military operation will be achieved.

A lasting, just and sustainable peace is possible only on the basis of eliminating the root causes of the conflict. This goal guides the current efforts of Russian diplomacy, including contacts with the countries of the Global Majority and within the framework of the Russia-US dialogue.

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🎙 Russia's President Vladimir Putin's statement at a meeting of the Board of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (February 24, 2026, Moscow)

Key points:

• Today’s complex international environment, the sharp escalation of conflicts in a number of regions around the world, and the conduct of the special military operation require Federal Security Service personnel to demonstrate the utmost vigilance, discipline and concentration.

• First and foremost, the fight against terrorism must be intensified. The dynamics of the key counter-terrorism indicators are clear and dictated by the current operational situation. Having failed to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield, the adversary has shifted to individual and mass terror. This includes shelling of cities, sabotage of infrastructure, and assassination attempts against representatives of state and military authorities.

• The adversaries do not shy away from any other means. Reports have already appeared in the media about their attempts – or intentions – to use even some form of nuclear component. They presumably understand how this could end.

• Our operational information is also reaching the media on possible plans to blow up our gas pipeline systems along the bed of the Black Sea – #TurkStream and #BlueStream. They simply cannot calm down. They do not know what else to do to derail this peaceful process and attempts to achieve a settlement through diplomatic means. Everything is being done to stage some kind of provocation and to disrupt what has been achieved, cautiously speaking, on the negotiation track.

• The adversaries are searching for any method – any at all – to try to inflict defeat on Russia. In doing so, they may push themselves to a dangerous extreme and later regret it.

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🎙 President of Russia Vladimir Putin's address at the Plenary Session of the Future Technologies Forum (February 25, 2026, Moscow)

💬 Vladimir Putin: The bioeconomy is far more than a field of scientific knowledge. With their bold ideas, scientists and engineers are already shaping a new reality and a new industrial paradigm – applying advances in biology and genetics to improve people’s lives and preserve our planet and its fragile ecosystem.

We in Russia take pride in the major scientific contribution made by the discoveries, philosophical and scientific teachings of Vladimir Vernadsky, Ilya Mechnikov, Kliment Timiryazev, Nikolai Koltsov, Nikolai Vavilov, Vladimir Engelhardt and other outstanding Russian scholars, including our contemporaries.

We will continue to expand our capabilities and move forward. Biotechnology – reinforced by the power of computing systems and artificial intelligence – is developing at an unprecedented pace. It helps address the key challenges of our time: climate change, food shortages and the depletion of renewable resources, and can serve projects both on Earth and in space.

❗️ I have repeatedly stressed: equal access to the technologies of the future – not privileges for the “chosen few” – is an indispensable condition for the fair development of our civilisation.

That is why, within #BRICS and other associations, as well as through bilateral cooperation, we are ready to implement joint scientific, educational and investment programmes in biotechnology for the benefit of all humanity.

<…>

At the Forum, we traditionally discuss areas and developments that shape the future of humankind. Advances in biology, genetics and other life sciences are rightly called the technologies of the 21st century. Together with the IT industry and artificial intelligence, they are transforming the economy and society, creating new opportunities for millions of people.

Digital platforms already support scientists in implementing research projects, connect a craftsman or entrepreneur from a small town with a customer in a megacity, enable residents to participate in managing their building, settlement or entire region, and analyse medical studies in record time, helping doctors save lives. These are just some of the areas within the evolving platform economy.

🇷🇺 In this sphere, Russia is creating world-class solutions. We stand ready to share our experience and expertise in the interests of all humanity.

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#KievRegimeCrimes

📑 Chapter II of the Report on violations of international humanitarian law committed by the Kiev regime against POWs has been published. The report was prepared by Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik.

Part I

This new report titled “Secret Prisons”, contains key verified data on violations of international humanitarian law against Russian servicemen who were held captive by the Kiev regime and returned to Russia following a POW exchange in October 2025.

***

A network of “secret prisons” for Russian servicemen captured by Ukrainian armed groups was established throughout the territories controlled by the Kiev regime. Based on the obtained information, conclusions can be drawn about the existence of a systematic approach to torture in the said facilities.

According to numerous credible testimonies, it is there – in an atmosphere of lawlessness and impunity – that the largest number of crimes against POWs are committed.

The affected Russian servicemen provided detailed accounts of a deliberately organized and actively applied system of systematic torture and humiliation, moral and physical abuse carried out by Ukrainian armed forces, special services and other security and paramilitary formations, including the use of “electric chairs” and other devices.

❗️ Testimonies documenting sexual violence and threats of violence, torture through deprivation of sleep, water and food, as well as a range of other forms of abuse, have been recorded.

Certain human rights organisations, in their own reports, acknowledge the existence of “secret prisons” on Ukrainian territory, referring to them instead as “transit points”. Controlled by Ukrainian armed groups, such facilities are closed to international humanitarian organisations, which, however, tend not to address the issue publicly.

The matter of access to these locations and verification of detention conditions is not publicly brought before Ukraine’s political leadership. As a result, the existence of Ukrainian “secret prisons” is effectively concealed from the international community.

The report includes excerpts from testimonies of Russian servicemen formerly held in Ukrainian captivity, confirming the widespread nature of torture, threats, violence and killings practiced in dozens of “secret prisons”.

👉 Full version of the report (PDF)

🎙 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to media questions (February 26, 2026)

❓ Question: Why has Europe split on the issue of deploying peacekeepers?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: There are different points of view, as in every collective and every society. There are normal people, who care about their people and countries, and there are those who play at ideologised schemes. This is what I think. 

❓ Question: New timeframes for peace settlement in Ukraine are named. According to US President Donald Trump, it should be achieved within one month.

💬 Sergey Lavrov: Have you heard anything about timeframes from us? We have tasks, not timeframes. And we are addressing them.

❓ Question: Apropos of nuclear weapons…

💬 Sergey Lavrov: That says it all.

❓ Question: Why the negotiating rhetoric about nuclear weapons has become so intense?

💬 Sergey Lavrov: I think they feel offended at failing to achieve anything.

The task is again to make Russia lose. After all, they say that Ukraine is winning. If they see the picture this way…

They are the Coalition of the Willing, aren’t they? Both Russian and English have the expression “mistake the wish for the reality.” They resemble people called “those willing to pass themselves off for the real.” We will wait and see.  

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The ambassadors of Germany, France, and Poland to Nigeria published an article containing malicious comments regarding Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. Read the Russian Embassy's response, which was also published in The Guardian newspaper.

12 years of Selective Memory: A Crisis they Helped Create
It is difficult not to raise an eyebrow at the company in whose name the recent piece «On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine» was published in the Guardian newspaper on February 24. Speaking solemnly of “four years of war,” the European warmongers and their Eastern European satellites in the form of Poland carefully ignore the most important element: the root causes of the conflict and the conditions necessary for its settlement.

These are the very actors who supported the unconstitutional coup d’état in Kiev and the rise of radical nationalists to power. The same actors who acted as guarantors of the Minsk Agreements, endorsed by the UN Security Council, only to later wipe their feet on them and admit that those accords were merely a diversionary maneuver. The same actors who openly backed a long war of attrition against millions of Donbass residents. The same actors who preferred to look the other way when atrocities were committed by the Kiev regime, including in Odessa in 2014, where nearly 50 people were burned alive. The same actors who tolerated and never condemned the systematic efforts of the Kiev authorities to eradicate everything Russian: the banning of Russian language and culture and the pressure exerted against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The sooner Europeans abandon their attempts at economic blockade and cease acting as instigators of war, the sooner space will open for a genuine diplomatic process. Instead, we see continued efforts to dictate narratives, impose sanctions, and fuel confrontation — all while claiming the moral high ground.

Neither Germany, nor France, and certainly not Poland, are in a position to determine the conditions for achieving peace in Ukraine. Peace cannot be manufactured in European capitals that have invested politically and materially in prolonging the conflict.

It will not emerge from megaphone diplomacy, groundless accusations, and provocation. It is precisely this European approach to the Ukrainian conflict, their undisguised interest in its continuation at the cost of thousands of lives of the fraternal peoples of Russia and Ukraine, that has disqualified them from playing any constructive role at the negotiating table. Those who sabotaged previous agreements and escalated tensions for years cannot credibly present themselves as guardians of peace.

Russia will continue to defend its sovereignty and protect the rights of Russian-speaking population by all available means. The objectives of the special military operation will be achieved, regardless of whether this pleases European strategists or not. The current trajectory of events leaves little room for the long-desired European fantasy of defeating Russia by proxy through the Ukrainian armed forces.

For Nigeria, and for Africa as a whole, this conflict should serve as a reminder of the necessity of independent analysis of international events. We are confident that the Nigerian public, as well as the Nigerian government, recognize the flawed and destructive nature of European attempts to discredit Russia, their paternalistic approach in prescribing positions to Nigerians, and the unrealistic character of their geopolitical designs.