West Looks Upon Ukraine as Colony, Russian Diplomat Says

According to Maria Zakharova, stealing national valuables is typical of the West’s dealings with diverse regions around the world, and Western museums have turned into "repositories for stolen items"

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Plans to relocate religious relics from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery to the West make it clear that Ukraine is looked upon as a colony, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

"It’s a tradition for colonial powers to behave like bandits toward the national and cultural heritages of the countries they view as their colonies. Undoubtedly, they consider Ukraine to be their colony, not just their fiefdom," she pointed out.

According to Zakharova, stealing national valuables is typical of the West’s dealings with diverse regions around the world, and Western museums have turned into "repositories for stolen items."

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said earlier that the Kiev authorities and UNESCO officials had reached an agreement to relocate Christian relics from the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra monastery in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev to museums in the Vatican, Germany, Italy and France, citing the need "to save them from Russian missile attacks." According to the SVR, an inventory of church property has been taken and funds have been allocated to transport the items to Europe. Special motor vehicles have been prepared, some of which are equipped with refrigerated climate-controlled units.

Extension of Stoltenberg’s tenure to have no effect on Russia-NATO relations — MFA

"That’s because Russia and NATO don’t have any relations," - Maria Zakharova added

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. The extension of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s term of office for another year will not affect relations between Russia and the alliance because they are non-existent, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"With respect to whether that (the extension of Stoltenberg’s term - TASS) will or will not influence relations with Russia, it won’t. That’s because Russia and NATO don’t have any relations," she said at a news conference.

"The question of why it was decided to let him stay needs to be directed to the people that made the decision to leave him in office. There was no shortage of intrigue there. It’s a question for them," Zakharova went on to say.

Stoltenberg said earlier that his term had been extended to October 1, 2024. NATO said in a statement that the decision will be formally affirmed at the bloc’s summit in Vilnius on July 11 and 12.

Russia to respond harshly to Ukrainian attacks on ZNPP — diplomat

Ahead of the June 23 visit of IEAE Director General Rafael Grossi to Moscow, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky accused Moscow of allegedly preparing a terror attack at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant

MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russia’s response to any Kiev’s attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant will be harsh, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing Thursday.

"Russia will continue to ensure protection of the ZNPP and will respond extremely harshly to any Ukrainian attacks on this facility," she said. "Once again, we call on the UN and IAEA management not to turn a blind eye to the situation around the ZNPP and to say it clearly who is to blame for the ongoing events and who actually poses a threat for security and functioning of this civilian facility."

Ahead of the June 23 visit of IEAE Director General Rafael Grossi to Moscow, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky accused Moscow of allegedly preparing a terror attack at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. Without providing any proof, he notified Brazil, India, China, the US, as well as European, Middle Easter and African countries about it.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Zelensky’s statement as yet another lie. Rosenergoatom CEO’s Advisor Renat Karchaa opined that these claims may indicate that Kiev is preparing a terror attack or a strike at the ZNPP in order to pull NATO into the Ukrainian conflict. On June 23, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya underscored that Moscow is highly concerned over Kiev’s increasingly frequent claims of the alleged mining of the ZNPP by Russia. He noted that the IAEA mission, who visited the power plant recently, was able to ensure the absurdity of such claims.

Diplomat sees global risks in Kiev plans to conduct terror attack on Zaporozhye nuke plant

"If anything happens, everything will be affected - the air, the water, and food. And Zelensky is clearly seeking to use this factor for his extremist terrorist purposes," Maria Zakharova noted

MOSCOW, July 5. /TASS/. Ukraine is planning to conduct a terrorist attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), with potential consequences affecting the entire globe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik radio on Wednesday.

"[Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky is going to conduct a terror attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant," the diplomat said.

According to Zakharova, neither the United States nor Great Britain sees this as a danger. "Meanwhile, not a single corner of the planet will be unaffected, because there are such things as the atmosphere, the world ocean and agriculture," Zakharova emphasized. "If anything happens, everything will be affected - the air, the water, and food. And Zelensky is clearly seeking to use this factor for his extremist terrorist purposes," the Russian diplomat lamented.

Renat Karchaa, adviser to the CEO of Russian nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom, warned on Tuesday evening that Ukraine will attempt to attack the Zaporozhye NPP on the night of July 5, in particular by dropping munitions packed with radioactive waste extracted from the South Ukraine NPP on July 3.

Earlier, Zelensky claimed that Russia was allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on the nuclear facility. He informed the United States, Brazil, India and China, as well as European, Middle Eastern and African countries about this alleged plot but provided no evidence to back up his allegations. Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said that Ukraine would hold drills and organize crisis centers "in case of a possible radiation leak from the ZNPP."

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted these allegations as yet another lie. According to Karchaa, Zelensky’s statements may indicate that Kiev is plotting to mount a terrorist attack or strike on the ZNPP in a bid to drag NATO fully into the conflict.