Russian diplomacy chief Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the West of supporting Ukraine to end the “Russian cause”, by name accusing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of visiting Kyiv.
“Mrs. von der Leyen said that the outcome of the war should be Russia’s defeat, and this defeat will not recover from it for decades,” Mr. Lavrov said in a television interview.
Isn’t this racism, Nazism, and an attempt to solve the Russian question? He said, remarks echoing the “final solution to the Jewish question”, the Holocaust orchestrated by the Nazis.
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The head of Russian diplomacy insisted that he considers the statements of the West supporting Ukraine “an attempt to resolve the” Russian question “finally.”
Ms von der Leyen is in Kyiv on Thursday and Friday for a meeting of the Commission with the Ukrainian government and a summit on Ukraine’s application to join the European Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin first accused Ukraine of Nazism to justify his military offensive nearly a year ago.
Since then, Russia has said it wants to “discredit” its neighbor, registering its attack in the legacy of the Soviet victory over the Nazis during World War II.
Putin is also to take the lead on Thursday in celebrations to great fanfare marking the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad on February 2, 1943.
In addition, Mr. Lavrov reiterated once again that Western military support to Ukraine constitutes an “escalation”, particularly in the case of possible deliveries of long-range weapons.
