In response to British officials’ claims that the depleted uranium (DU) shells they intend to supply to Ukraine are “ordinary” weaponry, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova challenged them to deploy these weapons on the British soil.
“For the start, London could train on its island, to see what is this ‘standard weapon’ that ‘they have always used.’ … Try it, feel the full range of deadly consequences, and then push to others,” she emphasized.
She pointed out that it would be hard to manage the radioactive effects of using DU ammunition on Ukrainian soil.
“If this threat or an intention, I don’t know how they qualify it, it will be implemented, and if they are used, as, for example, in Serbia, both water and soil will be contaminated. In turn, (water and soil) will poison those who will live there for decades,” she added.
The spokeswoman denounced the removal of the monks from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in Ukraine’s capital as “a new stage of a holy war.”
“We strongly condemn this and other acts of sacrilege on the part of the (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy regime and its wards, regardless of which religion or denomination they are directed against.
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“We demand from the relevant international structures to seek from Kyiv strict compliance with the international obligations assumed to ensure the rights of believers in the country,” Zakharova said.
When asked what Moscow would do if Moldova joined the sanctions against Russia, Zakharova responded that it would “be forced” to take “appropriate” action.
She expressed worry about the rise in “hostile rhetoric and occurrences” in Karabakh as well as the “unwillingness” of the parties to reach an amicable agreement to end the crisis around the Lachin corridor.
“Russia calls on the parties to be restrained in their statements and actions, to resume negotiations on all tracks of the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization, including unblocking transport communications, delineating the border, preparing a peaceful corridor, holding meetings of public figures, parliamentarians,” she said.
Zakharova stated that a trilateral meeting between Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia is being discussed.
The arrangement between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran is one that Moscow values highly, she said, hailing it as a “excellent platform for contact with an emphasis on the actual realization of cooperative projects in the field of economy, transport, and energy.”