Russian International Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the West of desirous to inflict a long-lasting defeat in opposition to Moscow and lashed out in opposition to EU chief Ursula von der Leyen who earlier arrived in Kyiv.
“Ursula von der Leyen… mentioned that the end result of the warfare ought to be the defeat of Russia, the sort of defeat that for many years, for a lot of a long time, Russia can not restore its financial system,” Lavrov mentioned in feedback aired on Russian state tv.
Learn extra: UK homes price 584 million kilos to fall into sea amid coastal erosion: Report
“Is that this not racism, not Nazism — not an try to resolve ‘the Russian query'” Lavrov added, evoking Russia’s victory in opposition to Nazi Germany in World Warfare II.
The European Fee chief introduced she had arrived in Kyiv with a crew of commissioners and the bloc’s most senior diplomat earlier Thursday, a day earlier than a Ukraine-European Union summit within the war-torn nation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has often drawn parallels between what he calls Moscow’s “particular army operation” in Ukraine and the warfare in opposition to Nazi Germany.
He launched the battle in Ukraine in February final 12 months with the introduced goal of “de-Nazifying” the nation.