🎙 Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Moscow, September 5, 2023)

🔷 FM Sergey Lavrov’s schedule
🔷 Ukrainian crisis
🔷 The use of Western weapons in Ukraine for attacking civilian facilities
🔷 US State Department Global Engagement Centre’s new bulletin, "The Kremlin's War Against Ukraine’s Children"
🔷 Attack on the Acting Russian Consul-General in Gothenburg

And more...

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#Ukraine

▪️ I often talk about this, but today I will show you several fragments of NATO munitions we have received from the Defence Ministry of Russia. These horrible “postcards” are designed for those in the EU and NATO countries who believe that their taxes and free donations serve the cause of peace. Look at them. There’s children’s blood on them, the blood of innocent civilians. These munitions were bought, produced and transported with the money of people in the EU countries who talk about peace every day and believe that this is important. Is the EU paying for this kind of peace? Is this the peace that EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell regards as ideal? Is this the peace the Western NGOs and media organisations are talking about?

#US

▪️ On August 24, the Global Engagement Centre at the US Department of State published a bulletin, The Kremlin’s War Against Ukraine’s Children, which contains a streak of absurd accusations against Russia relating to the issue of children. This is not just a piece of rampant misinformation distorting facts; it is in fact a terrible Goebbels-style fake narrative. Russia has never hidden what it has been doing in the interests of Ukrainian children who ended up in our territory. On behalf of President Vladimir Putin, most of the work in this area is being carried out by Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, who regularly reports to the public, including the international community, on the situation regarding children evacuated from the war zone.

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 The Foreign Ministry has released a statement regarding the food deal and the supply of grain and fertiliser.

Let's, for the umpteenth time, use facts and figures to take a look at the situation concerning food security after the Black Sea Initiative was discontinued.

1. The grain deal did not help the poorest countries address hunger. Out of 32.8 million tonnes of food, just a trifle - less than 3 percent - were sent to the countries in need.
2. After the deal came to an end, grain prices continued to fall. In August, they fell by 4-5 percent.
3. The grain exported as part of the deal mainly went toward enriching Ukrainian animal feed producers. It was primarily intended for livestock and was shipped to Europe rather than Africa.
4. Ukraine is no longer the world's breadbasket. The country's share of global grain exports is only 5 percent and continues to shrink.
5. Ukraine's arable land is shrinking as well, partly due to contamination with radiation and toxins from depleted uranium munitions that Kiev has been using since the spring.
6. Europe is not helping Ukraine export grain. Since May, there has been a ban on grain shipments to EU countries bordering on Ukraine. This situation is likely to continue into the winter.

Now, let's discuss the UN Secretariat and the West being unwilling to act on their obligations to Russia under the deal.
1. To make the deal work, it is necessary to reconnect Rosselkhozbank to SWIFT. Instead, what we are witnessing are endless discussions about creating intermediary mechanisms through subsidiary enterprises and partner banks (without implementation guarantees). Rosselkhozbank accounts are being closed altogether.
2. There has been no progress on insuring Russian ships. We’ve seen nothing but promises to take care of things “later.” A special insurance platform mechanism has not been created.
3. The unlocking of assets is only to be discussed after the humiliating process of companies acknowledging their “sanctioned status.” Again, without any guarantees.
4. The UN remains silent with regard to resuming the Toglatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline’s operation, which could provide fertiliser to tens of millions of customers.
5. We invited the UN to join in a discussion, but Rebeca Grynspan who is in charge of the deal on behalf of the UN, is unwilling to come to Moscow or even send reports about her activities.


Finally, let's talk about how Russia is actually addressing the issue of hunger in the world, without any “deals.”
1. Russia has already sent or will soon send:
• 20,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Malawi;
• 34,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Kenya;
• 23,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Zimbabwe;
• 34,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Nigeria;
• 55,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Sri Lanka;
• 200,000 tonnes of wheat to Somalia, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, and Eritrea.
2. A project is being developed jointly with Ankara and Doha to deliver 1 million tonnes of grain (!) to Türkiye where it will be processed and shipped free of charge (!) to the poorest countries.

It turns out that while Europe was exporting animal feed grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea as part of the deal, efforts were made to block and to create loss-making circumstances for Russian agriculture. The UN failed to resolve the situation.

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova:

According to the media, the White House claims that depleted uranium munitions to be sent to Kiev do not present a radioactive threat.

Is this a lie or ineptitude?

I wrote many times about the toxicity of depleted uranium, the special danger of radioactive dust for human health and soil contamination with radionuclides, I would like to remind everyone that the number of cancer cases spiked in the areas where depleted uranium munitions have been used. NATO military personnel can testify to that, especially Italian servicemen, who did not know about this during the bloc’s aggression against Yugoslavia. Years later, the Italian parliament published a 252-page report citing the results of such research.

Out of the 7,500 people subjected to the effects of toxic agents and radiation, 372 have died (that is a 5 percent mortality rate, or every 20th person). Moreover, they died of painful cancer complications such as renal dysfunction, lung cancer, bone cancer, oesophagus cancer, degenerative skin disorder, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and leukaemia.

Serbs, the direct victims of NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia, were also affected by depleted uranium munitions. According to the Serbian Health Ministry, the rate of various diseases increased considerably in the regions bombed by NATO, including cancer, male infertility, a broad range of autoimmune diseases, pathological pregnancies, and children’s mental disorders.

📆 #OnThisDay in 1945, the Allied Soviet, US, British and French forces held a joint parade in Berlin. The anti-Hitler coalition allies marched through the defeated Nazi stronghold of Berlin.

The initiative for this celebration came from the Soviet Union, whose leaders suggested organising a joint Allied military pass-by in Berlin after its own Victory Parade in Moscow in June. It was arranged that it would take place on Alexanderplatz near the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate after the downfall of militarist Japan, their last enemy.

👉 Originally it was assumed that the parade would be reviewed by all the commanders-in-chief of the Allied forces in Germany. On the eve of the event, however, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower (USA), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (GB), and Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France) refused to attend, sending their representatives instead. This was a clear attempt to belittle the Soviet Union’s role in gaining a victory over the hydra of German Nazism and Japanese militarism.

The Berlin parade involved all branches of the land forces. It was decided to do without Air Force and Navy units because they were deployed far from Berlin. Soviet generals primarily sought to invite officers and men who had particularly distinguished themselves during the assault on Berlin.

The parade began at 11 am on the dot. The stands were filled with Soviet military leaders, generals and admirals of the British, US, and French armies and navies, and a group of US congressmen. Nearly 20,000 Berliners assembled around the parade ground. After reviewing the troops, Marshal Georgy Zhukov delivered a speech praising the historic achievements of the Soviet and Allied forces. Next there was a pass-by of the foot columns.

☝️ The memorable Victory Parade near the Brandenburg Gate was the last symbolic act involving the anti-Hitler coalition Allies. This joint military holiday became a prologue to the Cold War that was about to begin by the West's initiative.

⚡️ Russia's position at the seventy-eighth session of the UN General Assembly:

Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention

📃 We support the strengthening of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention, the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare.

We are gravely concerned over the growing tendency of Euro-Atlantic allies, led by the United States, to "privatize" specialized international organizations, of which the unacceptable situation in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a graphic example.

❗️ Since 2018, in the vein of the anti-Russian and anti-Syrian rhetoric, NATO and EU countries have completely abandoned the practice of attaining consensus on key issues on the OPCW's agenda, as enshrined in Article VIII of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and replaced it with voting on the basis of bloc discipline.

These consistent efforts resulted in vesting the Technical Secretariat with "attribution" functions in violation of the CWC-established procedure for introducing amendments to the Convention (Article XV). While pursuing its goal of toppling the legitimate government of Bashar al-Assad, undesirable for Washington, the "collective West" has virtually undermined the integrity of the Convention and ruined the technical nature of the OPCW's work.

🎙 Remarks by the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Ryabkov at the Regional seminar "Strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime"

📍 Bishkek, September 7, 2023

💬 It cannot but cause concern that in recent decades a certain group of countries, or to be precise, the States which are the NATO members and their partners, have been trying to usurp the right to interpret the issue of compliance by other State Parties with their obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). They also have been trying to use the provisions of the Treaty to put pressure on objectionable countries and justify the interference in their internal affairs.

Similarly, the NPT is being seen as a pretext for restricting states' access to nuclear technology.

These factors do not contribute to maintaining the spirit of constructive interaction and the advance of an interested dialogue among States.

Under such circumstances, ensuring the sustainability of the NPT is one of the priorities for maintaining stability on a global scale.

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The situation that led to the suspension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) due to the destructive policy of the United States and its significant violation of this agreement cannot but cause concern.

Nuclear disarmament in the NPT is incorporated in the context of general and complete disarmament, but now we are witnessing an increase in spending on conventional weapons in most States. The US accounts for 40% of all military spending in the world and if we add up the budgets of the armies of NATO countries and their closest allies, we get about two-thirds of global military spending. And this cannot be ignored when talking about the renunciation of nuclear weapons.

Bearing that in mind, there has been no reduction in the nuclear potential of NATO. On the contrary, the so-called non-strategic nuclear weapons of the United States are located on the territory of the alliance States, and vital Russian facilities are within their reach.

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🎤📰📹 September 8 marks International #JournalistsSolidarityDay. Today, the world commemorates journalists and media specialists who lost their lives in the line of duty. Words of support are also being offered to those who continue to be attacked and repressed for their work as journalists.

Unfortunately, we are marking this date – intended to raise global awareness of the difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions in which journalists have to work and to remind of the importance of mutual support and unity of media professionals – amid a dismal situation with the protection of media rights and freedom of expression.

☝️ Russian media and journalists have long been targets of systematic harassment in the countries of the collective West, but they have come under truly unprecedented pressure in recent months.

❗️ There has been no appropriate reaction from relevant international organisations to the policy of those “advanced democracies’” to cleanse the information landscape from Russian broadcasters and create unbearable conditions for our correspondents; in fact, they prefer to turn a blind eye to these gross violations of media rights and outright censorship.

It is regrettable that UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and other international organisations prefer to ignore the situation instead of taking effective measures to ensure the safety of journalists.

👉 We recommend checking out this list of politically motivated repressions against Russian media, which is far from complete, on the Russian Foreign Ministry website

***

In spite of everything, on this day we would like to congratulate all correspondents, editors, photographers and other media workers who are faithful to the ideals of journalistic solidarity and who are always ready to help their colleagues, even if their opinions differ.

For our part, we will continue to defend the rights of our journalists and ensure that those who have illegally usurped the power to set rules and punish dissenters are held accountable.

📹 President Putin's video address on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of #Donbass

💬 September 8, 1943, marks a landmark date in the history of our country. Eighty years ago today, the legendary unconquered Donbass – Russia’s centuries-old stronghold, a land of hard workers and warriors, a rich and generous land – was liberated and cleansed from Nazi occupiers.

Its resources held enormous value for the enemy. Seizing them was one of the goals behind Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, and the Nazis did everything to keep the Donbass steppe to themselves and to force the people to work for the war machine of the Third Reich.

However, they ran into fierce resistance in the occupied territories, the intensity of which did not wane for nearly 700 days. During that time, while the cruel and cynical beast ruled over Donbass, hundreds of thousands of partisans, underground fighters, civilians, and children were subjected to torture and execution, and unassailable enemy fortifications grew on the key fronts.

The banks of the Seversky Donets River were dotted with bunkers and dugouts, and many kilometres of minefields. Breaking through that defence line appeared impossible, but the Red Army soldiers accomplished this task, performed feats beyond human capabilities, and travelled a heroic and sacrificial path, thus solidifying the triumph of Soviet troops at the Kursk Bulge.

The arduous and selfless assault of Saur Mogila is a special chapter.

This strategic height changed hands several times and surrendered to the Soviet soldier, who stood to the death for the truth, justice, freedom, and the future of our Motherland.

☝️ I am confident that nine years ago, on these frontlines that are sacred for us, Donbass militia members, descendants of the Great Patriotic War soldiers followed their example.

That is what Russia is: a nation united by its history, unbreakable through its spiritual traditions, and loyal to the legacy and memory of its ancestors.

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🎙Full text of Ambassador Stepanov’s answer to comment request of WSJ:

"Russia has not interfered in Canada’s domestic affairs in general and elections in particular. And no facts have ever being presented to prove allegations. With all due respect, Ottawa’s political establishment makes a mistake trying to convince itself and the constituency that Moscow cares about the results of Canada’s elections. It’s obviously convenient tool of politicking in the Ottawa’s bubble, but disconnected from the reality of the outside world."

#Opinion by Maria Zakharova

💬 On Western hypocrisy

President of the European Council Charles Michel went on record as saying that “Over 250 million people face acute food insecurity worldwide, and by deliberately attacking Ukraine’s seaports, the Kremlin is depriving them of the food they desperately need.”

First, when the EU countries participated in attacks on Syria, Libya, and Yugoslavia, they didn’t spare a thought for starving people in Africa. Nor were they concerned that the colour revolutions and regime change they engineered would cause the suffering of millions of people, who died or were forced to wander the world not knowing which way to turn. They never paid damages to anyone, let alone apologised.

Second, nothing prevents the EU from discontinuing their purchases of cheap grain (or rather from gobbling it up with their greedy mouths), while ruining their own farmers in the process. You bought Ukrainian grain – now send it to the starving people. Better yet, send it free of charge and pay the transportation costs, as Russia does.

Third, I forgot, when did Michel urge his underlings to release Russian fertiliser impounded in the seaports of Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands? Fertiliser, after all, is vital for producing food in the countries that need it. Oh, excuse my forgetfulness. There were no statements of this sort at all.

Fourth, will the EC head calculate the damage done to the world by the illegitimate Western sanctions against Russia? Or is he so busy spreading misinformation that he has forgotten how to add real figures?

Fifth, we have provided facts and figures on the food security situation after the grain deal was discontinued. We also have demonstrated how Russia is addressing the problem of hunger in the world, while the EU provides for its own needs and profits.

But the main evidence that the EU freak show never stops performing came on the same day from High Representative Borrel, who said: “We very much regret the [Georgian] government’s decision to allow the resumption of flights with Russia.” Everyone should comply with the EU policy of sanctions against Russia, he added. Is this how Brussels is thinking about people in need of food, transport, and legal protection? If the EU bureaucrats were really concerned about people’s interests, they would be happy with an improvement in the transport situation. But no, the EU bogeys are opposed again.

All the West thinks about is how to make a killing from the war it has unleashed against Russia and extend its self-aggrandisement.

🗓 The Siege of Leningrad - one of the most challenging and tragic periods in the history of the city - commenced on September 8, 1941.

In early September 1941, German and Finish forces cut off Leningrad from overland routes, encircling the city. The Nazi invaders’ plans included erasing the city from the face of the earth and annihilating all its residents.

By November, food supplies were running low, and bread rationing was cut down. Workers were given 250 grammes of bread, while others received 125 grammes. The harsh winter exacerbated the hardships faced by the people of Leningrad.

The only hope for salvation for hundreds of thousands of city residents was evacuation or the delivery of food across Lake Ladoga by water in the summer and over the ice in the winter. This route became known as the Road of Life.

Despite the unbearable conditions, industrial enterprises in Leningrad continued to operate. During the siege, the city's workforce produced and repaired about 2,000 tanks, 1,500 aircraft, 850 combat ships and vessels.

🕯 The siege lasted a terrifying 872 days and was lifted on January 27, 1944, during the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive. During this time, approximately 1 million residents died, with over 600,000 of them succumbing to hunger.

The Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, which is the largest mass grave of World War II, is the most well-known memorial to the victims of the siege. It is the resting place for more than 420,000 residents of Leningrad and 70,000 soldiers who participated in the defence of the city.

☝️The blame for the deaths of the people of Leningrad lies entirely with the Nazi command. Nevertheless, the decision to provide compensation to the survivors of the siege was only made by the German government in 2021. It should be noted that this compensation is not extended to all survivors, leading many of the latter who are still alive today to call upon the government of Germany to expand humanitarian payments to include all siege survivors.

🎙 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s address to the organisers and participants of the International Forum “ROSTKI: Russia-China mutually beneficial cooperation” (September 8, 2023)

💬 Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction have reached an unprecedentedly high level and serve as a model of cooperation between major countries in today’s world. Our ties are built on the principles of equality, mutual trust, and mutual benefit. Most importantly, they serve the interests of our peoples and look towards the future.

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🇷🇺🇨🇳 For decades, Russia and China have been developing and strengthening multi-dimensional trade and economic relations for the benefit of the people of both countries <...> Considering the dynamic expansion of our economic exchanges, this year we will be able to achieve, before the deadline, the goal set by the heads of our states to reach $200 billion in Russian-Chinese trade by 2024.

📈 It is gratifying to know that we are achieving these impressive results by transitioning to a broader use of national currencies. Over the past two years, the share of the ruble and the yuan in bilateral payments has grown from 25 percent to 80 percent.

Region-to-region ties remain an integral part of Russian-Chinese relations. The Volga-Yangtze Council, which brings together the regions of the Volga Federal District and the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River, has proven itself as an important platform for dialogue and practical cooperation between the regions of Russia and China.

<...>

I am pleased to note that Tatarstan has gained vast experience in successful interaction with our Chinese friends both at the regional and the municipal level <...> New opportunities for enhancing cooperation emerged following the opening of the General Consulate of the People's Republic of China in Kazan five years ago.

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