Russia claims Western talk of Ukraine peace just for show

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Kiev on Tuesday, where he urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek a ceasefire with Russia to facilitate peace talks. The Ukrainian leader rejected the proposal, saying he has a different way to end the conflict.

Whatever discussions Ukraine and Western nations have about peace are mere “decoys, screens, tropes and memes”, said purely for their own sake, Zakharova said on her weekly radio show on Wednesday.

The Ukraine conflict is dominated by the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, which the US and its allies have declared “absolutely clearly and specifically,” the official explained. In practical terms, the West seeks to dismantle Russia and to end its existence, she claimed.

“What did you expect from the people chosen by the US as their tools? Tools don’t have a say in what they do.”

Clear-eyed politicians in the EU can see the place allocated to their nations in the US grand plan, which is that of a sacrificial animal on the altar of victory against Russia, Zakharova added. Europe’s grim future is evident in the state of its economy, she continued.

”What is happening to Europe is not just a crisis, or collapse, or loss of position. It truly is a disaster,” she argued.

Western officials such as Hungary’s Orban, who publicly object to the course of action chosen in Washington, probably want to set the record straight for the future generations of Europeans, who will blame the leaders of today for their inaction, Zakharova stressed.

The Hungarian prime minister has repeatedly argued that Western sanctions imposed on Russia as punishment for the Ukraine conflict have failed to end hostilities and ended up hurting EU members more than they did Russia.

Budapest has used its veto power in the bloc to stop proposed restrictions that would have undermined core Hungarian national interests, such as its cooperation with Russia on nuclear energy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to order a ceasefire with Ukraine as soon as Kiev renounces its bid to join NATO and pulls its troops out of all territory which Moscow claims under its sovereignty.