The West is supplying weapons and helping Kiev’s military instead of de-escalating hostilities, Sergey Shoigu claims
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu © Vadim Savitsky; Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry; RIA Novosti
Foreign military advisers in Ukraine are directly involved in the preparation of attacks on Russian territories, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Friday during a high-level meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries.
Apart from helping to prepare attacks, the West is also continuing to offer Kiev real-time intelligence data and train its military personnel, while foreign specialists and mercenaries are actively taking part in the fighting, he claimed.
“Almost every day, with the tacit consent of the West, Kiev uses the weapons it receives to cause damage to civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation,” Shoigu said.
Instead of working towards de-escalation, the West has continued to “pump Kiev” with weapons, the uncontrolled movement of which creates a risk of them falling into the hands of terrorists, he added.
The minister also stated that Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant continue to this day, and warned that such actions could have catastrophic consequences.
He restated accusations of Kiev’s involvement in last month’s brutal attack on a concert hall near the Russian capital, which resulted in the deaths of 140 people.
“Traces of the terrorist attack committed on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall also lead to Ukraine,” Shoigu said, adding that “all those guilty of these illegal actions and atrocities will definitely suffer the deserved punishment.”
“It’s only a matter of time,” he said.
Shoigu also noted that NATO forces had started to create additional threats to Russia’s military security by pushing up to its borders.
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“I want to emphasize that it was not us, but they who came [to our borders.] This once again shows that we cannot trust the Westerners. Now we are being reproached that if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, then allegedly we will attack the countries of the alliance.”
The minister reiterated that Russia “adheres to a policy of non-interference in the affairs of other states,” and noted that, despite its promises not to expand, the US-led military bloc had continued to advance to the east since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russian forces will continue conducting the special military operation and will inevitably achieve all its goals, Shoigu declared, noting that Western attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Moscow are “futile.”
He made the remarks at a Council of Defense Ministers meeting of SCO members, which include China, Russia, India, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. The gathering, which took place from Wednesday to Friday in Astana, Kazakhstan, saw attendees discuss global and regional affairs, as well as defense and security collaboration.
