Moscow indignant with Berlin's decision to supply lethal weapons to Kyiv

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova expressed outrage at the German government's decision to start supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons and said that by doing so, Berlin is "calling on the ghosts not of a cold war anymore, but rather a hot war."

"Such an outrageous gesture is justified by 'Ukraine's struggle for its freedom and independence' as well as the 'threat' our country allegedly poses to European security," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a commentary on Monday.

"With this decision, Germany is calling up the ghosts not of a cold war, but rather a hot war. Too many sad associations are evoked by the prospect of further 'military' pumping [with weapons] of Kyiv by Berlin, which, moreover, does not seem to realize that in the current situation the arms supplied can easily become a target of neo-Nazis, terrorists, and looters on Ukrainian territory," the commentary said.

"In recent days, we have witnessed numerous statements by the German side about the start of deliveries of combat weapons to Ukraine (in particular, about 1,000 portable anti-tank missiles, 500 Stinger portable anti-aircraft missile systems, permission for several other countries to transfer German-made weapons to Kyiv), which runs counter to Berlin's previous balanced policy in this matter," it said.

"Nothing is new under the moon. Once again, as many times in history, weapons brought from German soil will be directed against Russian soldiers. Against this background, [German Chancellor] Olaf Scholz's assurances about the importance of the process of historical reconciliation between the peoples of Germany and Russia sounded especially cynical," the commentary said.

"The supply of weapons to the ideological heirs of Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera makes us rightfully ask a rhetorical question - how comprehensive and complete was the denazification process in Germany itself after the defeat in World War II? In this context, alas, now the condescending remarks by Scholz, who during the Munich conference on security policy issues on February 18, 2022 described the uncovered facts of genocide of civilians in Donbas by the Ukrainian military as 'ridiculous,' become clear," it said.