It is Russia, not Ukraine, that protects Europe from barbarism, militarism and aggression, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, commenting on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s allegations that Russia is planning to seize Mariupol and Berdyansk.
"After Poroshenko said that Russia is allegedly planning to seize Mariupol and Berdyansk, I can say, putting his own pronouncements in other words, that it is Russia that protects Europe from barbarism, tyranny, terrorism, aggression and militarism looming large over our continent," she wrote on her Facebook account.
"It is due to the current Kiev regime that the present-day Ukraine is characterized by the frenzy of extremists and paramilitary groups, warfare against own people, propaganda and manipulation as a key tool of governance, provocations as a foreign policy concept, rampant corruption, intimidation of journalists and overall control over the mass media, nationalism as a national idea, dictation of law enforcement agencies, the lack of mechanisms of public control, and erosion of power institutions," TASS cited her as saying.
According to Zakharova, Germany’s former foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, was absolutely right when he said in an interview with the N-TV channel that his country must spare no effort not to let Ukraine drag it into a war.
Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko said on the occasion of Europe Day on May 21, 2016 that Ukraine had a special mission to protect its Western neighbors from Russia’s aggression, barbarism and militarism.
