US ‘blind’ to Ukrainian terrorism: Russia

1. “The US condemns terrorism carried out by Palestinian militant movement Hamas, but condones Kiev,” Zakharova pointed out, commenting on a recent article in the Washington Post by US President Joe Biden.

The spokeswoman said it exemplified American double standards, which she called “the key problem.” 

“The Biden administration was the one that created the Zelensky regime. Moreover, it fed it with money, weapons and, what was most awful, the sense of impunity,” Zakharova claimed.

Contrary to Washington’s assertions, Ukraine invests the money and weapons it receives from foreign backers not in the defense of democracy, but to attack non-combatants, including through acts of terrorism, she alleged.

The opinion piece attributed to Biden was published two weeks ago, and described Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin as two challenges that Washington must tackle.  

“Both Putin and Hamas are fighting to wipe a neighboring democracy off the map. And both Putin and Hamas hope to collapse broader regional stability and integration and take advantage of the ensuing disorder,” the US president claimed. 

Zakharova called the article “a mixture of truth and fiction”, and stressed it had misrepresented Moscow’s position. Russia suffered from international terrorism in the 1990s, so it rejects “any form of terrorist actions” as a matter of principle, the diplomat added.

Moscow has accused Kiev of numerous terrorist attacks, including two bombings of the Crimean Bridge, in which civilians were killed, as well as the targeted assassinations of Russian public figures, including journalist Darya Dugina and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.

Ukraine has effectively claimed responsibility for the bridge bombings, arguing that the infrastructure is a military target and pledging more attacks. Western media have also confirmed that the CIA-funded Ukrainian intelligence services were behind the assassinations of Russian public figures.

Zakharova accused the West of encouraging bloodshed in Ukraine, citing the failed peace talks with Kiev in spring 2022. 

“It was the West, particularly Washington and London, which blocked, literally prohibited Ukraine from negotiating with our side,” the spokeswoman continued, adding, “Why? Because talks are a path to peace, de-escalation and ceasefire. And they did not want those.” 

Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who heads the parliamentary faction of Zelensky’s party, confirmed last week that then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had derailed a proposed truce, telling Kiev “to just make war.” 

The Russian diplomat further claimed that the US benefits from chaos and violence in various parts of the world, including the current conflict in the Middle East.