🎙 Comment by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova regarding plans by the United States and Türkiye to supply arms to Kiev (August 15, 2026)

❓ Question: There have been alarming reports lately on the possible delivery of a large shipment of US-made weapons and munitions to Ukraine, which are currently at the disposal of the Turkish Republic. What would be your comment in this regard?

💬 Maria Zakharova: Judging by the documents, which were recently released by the US Congress, this can be quite a considerable arsenal, including offensive weapons.

In particular, these papers mention 12 multiple rocket launch systems and more than 2,500 non-guided cluster munitions for them, as well as 47,000 203-mm cluster shells and 70 ATACMS short-range missiles.

What jumps to the eye are all the remaining contradictions and inconsistencies regarding the circumstances and terms for delivering such a big load of lethal products.

It remains unclear who initiated this project to re-export weapons, how they will be transported and when this large lethal shipment will be sent to its receivers in Kiev. Finally, what were the parties involved in this deal thinking, namely the United States and Türkiye, when they decided to open yet another Pandora’s box to make the Banderite regime last longer in its agony while claiming more lives?

Moreover, these are countries which have been aspiring to play a special role in settling the Ukraine crisis and which have been saying that finding a political and diplomatic solution was their priority.

❗️ Pumping the Zelensky junta full of weapons will do nothing to affect the course of the special military operation in any meaningful way in terms of diverting it from Russia’s righteous scenario.

However, there will be no way to avoid damage across the board from these deliveries. This is not only a matter of victims and destruction and Kiev’s determination to cause harm at a larger scale, but also a matter of dealing with a severe blow to Russia’s bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara.

Attempts to exploit a peace-making rhetoric while supplying the Ukrainian Nazis with weapons inevitably undermine mutual trust, especially considering the fact that the Turkish authorities have made multiple assurances that they were committed to refraining from delivering lethal weapons to Kiev.

The Foreign Ministry has requested explanations from Washington and Ankara in connection with the information as announced by US Congress.

👉 There is still time to take a sober look at this whole situation.

Служба внешней разведки Российской Федерации:

Запад вновь упражняется в антироссийской режиссуре

⚡️ Пресс-бюро Службы внешней разведки Российской Федерации сообщает, что, по поступающей в СВР информации, спецслужба одной из западных стран в координации со своими украинскими прихвостнями намерена разыграть очередной антироссийский спектакль.

В этот раз события разворачиваются на латиноамериканской сцене, а сам сюжет напоминает отрывок из третьесортного криминального наркодетектива.

❗️ Планируется обвинить Россию в нелегальных поставках оружия наркокартелям и другим ОПГ в Венесуэле, Колумбии и Мексике.

С этой целью на территории указанных государств уже завозится вооружение российского производства, захваченное врагом в ходе специальной военной операции. Параллельно готовятся фейковые аудио- и видеоматериалы, подтверждающие «факты» передачи россиянами оружия через посредников латиноамериканцам.

Для пущей убедительности данный «массив» предполагается подкрепить фальшивой документацией, указывающей на якобы причастность к «схеме» представителей Вооружённых Сил Российской Федерации.

«Режиссёры» провокации наивно рассчитывают таким образом подорвать конструктивные отношения России со странами региона и склонить латиноамериканские правительства к поддержке антироссийского курса Запада.

Однако единственное, чего реально способны добиться русофобы, так это в очередной раз продемонстрировать отсутствие у них каких-либо нравственных ограничений, а также шаблонность мышления.

***

С самого начала украинского конфликта информационная война евро-атлантических элит против России характеризовалась вбросом и раскруткой самых гнусных, за гранью морали и права, сюжетов.

Устроенная ими кровавая инсценировка в Буче в апреле 2022 года, использованная для дальнейшей эскалации противостояния на Украине, — яркий тому пример. Однако подобного рода постановки не являются для западных спецслужб новейшим изобретением — они прочно укоренены в их практике.

Достаточно вспомнить, что Вторая мировая война началась после Гляйвицкой провокации 31 августа 1939 года — нападения переодетых в польскую форму эсэсовцев на радиостанцию в приграничном немецком городе Гляйвиц.

Дальнейший ход истории, впрочем, показал, что цена подобных инсценировок может оказаться крайне высокой прежде всего для самих организаторов.

⚡️ Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation:

The West is once again staging anti-Russian provocations

The Press Bureau of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation (SVR) reports that, according to information received by the SVR, an intelligence service of one Western country, in coordination with its Ukrainian proxies, intends to stage yet another anti-Russian spectacle.

This time, the spectacle is set in Latin America, with a storyline straight out of a third-rate narco crime drama.

❗️ The plan is to accuse Russia of illegally supplying weapons to drug cartels and other organised criminal groups in Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico.

To this end, Russian-made weapons captured by the enemy during the special military operation are already being brought into these countries. Meanwhile, fabricated audio and video materials are being produced as bogus “evidence” of Russians allegedly supplying weapons to Latin American recipients through intermediaries.

To lend the story greater credibility, the fake “evidence” is expected to be supplemented with forged documents allegedly linking members of the Russian Armed Forces to the “scheme”.

The masterminds behind the provocation naively hope that this will undermine Russia’s constructive relations with countries in the region and pressure Latin American governments into supporting the West’s anti-Russian course.

👉 In reality, the Russophobes will only succeed in once again revealing their complete lack of moral restraint and their reliance on the same outdated playbook.

***

From the very outset of the Ukrainian conflict, the information war waged by Euro-Atlantic elites against Russia has relied on fabricating and amplifying the vilest narratives, with utter disregard for morality and the law.

The Bucha hoax staged in April 2022, which was then used to further escalate the confrontation in Ukraine, is a glaring example. However, such operations are hardly a new invention of Western intelligence services – they have long been firmly embedded in their playbook.

Suffice it to recall that World War II began after the Gleiwitz provocation of August 31, 1939, when SS men dressed in Polish uniforms attacked a radio station in the German border town of Gleiwitz.

☝️ The subsequent course of history, however, showed that the price of such staged provocations can prove extremely high – above all for those who organise them.

🏙 On November 23-24, 2026, the International Municipal Forum will take place at the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow.

The Forum is a flagship platform for discussing urban development in Russia and advancing international cooperation in the field of urban infrastructure.

This year’s theme is "A More Sustainable Urban Transformation: Responding to Global Challenges".

🌐 The Forum will bring together Russian officials, representatives of federal and municipal authorities, business leaders, investors, public and political figures, as well as delegates from Asia, Australia and Oceania, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, and the #CIS.

The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Russian Government. The Government of Moscow is the General Partner.

💬 Executive Secretary of the Forum Organizing Committee, Adviser to the President of Russia Anton Kobyakov:

“The 21st century is an age of transformation, with the foundations of a new reality now being laid. The exchange of international experience enables us to find joint responses to common challenges and overcome existing barriers.

This Forum is about more than identifying trends – it is about shaping the DNA of our shared future. Our primary mission is to bring advanced technologies and people together in harmony, creating a future in which we can live and grow together”.

📄 The Forum’s business programme will cover all key areas of municipal development:
• urban planning
• integration of adjacent territories into the economy
• innovation, digitalization and high-tech manufacturing
• the environment, healthcare and social services
• education of the future and youth initiatives
• culture, sports and tourism

The 6th NEASPEC International Forum on Low Carbon Cities is expected to be one of the highlights of the event. The Forum exhibition will also showcase best practices and achievements in urban planning and infrastructure development.

☝️ Full information about the event is available on 👉 the OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Organisations Kirill Logvinov:

▪️ On August 19, 2003, a bomb attack on a hotel in Baghdad killed 22 humanitarian workers, including UN Special Representative for Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello.

The unprecedented attack on people carrying out their duty to save the lives of others left a deep mark far beyond the professional humanitarian community.

To raise public awareness of humanitarian assistance, the importance of multilateral cooperation in this field and the inviolability of humanitarian ideals, in 2008 the UN General Assembly, by Resolution 63/139, proclaimed August 19 World Humanitarian Day.

More than 250 million people worldwide are in need of assistance. The broad capabilities of the UN’s humanitarian system are mobilised to help meet at least part of these needs.

🇷🇺 Russia is an active participant in humanitarian operations. The expertise and experience of Russian search-and-rescue teams are widely sought in responding to natural disasters and rescuing those affected, while Russian medical teams rapidly deploy mobile hospitals on the ground.

#RussiaHelps

🤝 Since the beginning of 2026 alone, Russian humanitarian supplies have been delivered to Burkina Faso, Venezuela, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mali, Palestine, Tajikistan and Cuba.

These efforts have been carried out both bilaterally and through specialised international organisations, including the #UN system and our key partner, the World Food Programme. Regional authorities and Russian NGOs also play an important role in our humanitarian efforts.

Russia provides assistance to third countries with the consent of and in close coordination with the governments of recipient states, and in accordance with the core principles of humanitarian response – neutrality, humanity, impartiality and independence. These principles are enshrined in UN General Assembly Resolution 46/182.

We consistently uphold their inviolability at the UN and oppose attempts by the global minority to turn humanitarian assistance into an instrument of political pressure and interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement on the European Union’s unlawful activity concerning foreign vessels (August 12, 2026)

For the purpose of preventing maritime transportation of oil and other cargo in the interests of the Russian Federation, the European Union is conducting the Irini naval force operation off the Libyan coast.

Referring to an “amended” mandate of this operation, the European forces are carrying out unlawful searches of foreign vessels.

A recent example is the search on August 2 of the ship Tao Payoh in the Mediterranean Sea that operates under the flag of Cameroon. It was searched by the Italian military, assisted by a Polish patrol aircraft and a Greek patrol ship. The Italian Defence Ministry explained the search by having to verify its national affiliation. The search continued for two hours. Apparently, the suspicions were not verified, and the ship proceeded further.

It should be noted that the objectives of Operation Irini, approved by the UN Security Council, included enforcing arms embargo on Libya, collecting information on illicit exports of Libyan oil, and disrupting illegal human trafficking at sea.

❌ The mandate expired in May 2026.

Today, the European Union is essentially using Operation Irini to intimidate commercial carriers and hinder the freedom of navigation. This constitutes flagrant violation of current international regulations and broad interpretation of one’s authority.

Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, once again demonstrates ingregious neglect for international law when she calls routine maritime shipping, that provides for energy and food security of developing countries, illegal rather than the actions of the EU ships.

Flag verification, although possible under maritime law, is, in this case, nothing but a smokescreen for settling political scores and enforcing unilateral measures that Brussels tries to impose on the rest of the world. Verifying whether a vessel belongs to the so-called shadow fleet has no legal justification whatsoever. No internal decisions of the EU overwrite the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

By resorting to this sort of action, the European Union is inviting great danger on itself due to the steps that go absolutely beyond international regulations.

🎙 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s answer to a media question regarding Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statement on a proposal for Russia and Ukraine to introduce a moratorium on military activities in the Black Sea (August 14, 2026)

❓ Question: Has the Russian Side received Turkiye’s proposal to introduce a moratorium on military activities in the Black Sea, and is it prepared to consider such an option?

💬 Maria Zakharova: We traditionally give careful consideration to all peace initiatives put forward by our foreign partners, especially by Turkiye, which is an important regional player and our neighbour on the Black Sea.

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan recently said in a media interview that Ankara had conveyed proposals to the Russian and Ukrainian sides on introducing a moratorium on military activities in the Black Sea.

❌ The Russian Side has not received through official channels any formal Turkiye’s proposal setting out the specific terms of this initiative.

If this refers to a one-sided arrangement along the lines of the 2022-2023 scheme, better known as the Black Sea Initiative, under which Moscow suspended military activities in the Black Sea – more precisely, retaliatory measures to protect Russian port infrastructure and energy facilities – then returning to that format would be inadvisable.

☝️ The arrangement was conditional on reciprocal measures by the other side. Those measures never followed.

At the time, as you may recall, we agreed to the moratorium in exchange for access for Russian agricultural products to global markets.

However, the West demonstrated a bad-faith approach: the humanitarian corridor we provided came to be widely used for terrorist attacks against Russian civilian and military facilities, while Russian agricultural products remained under sanctions. This ultimately led to the termination of the Black Sea Initiative.

Today, we regularly face brazen acts of terrorism carried out by Ukrainian drones in the Black Sea against civilian vessels from coastal states, several times a month. We regard these attacks as a deliberate policy aimed at destabilising civilian shipping in the Black Sea region, further escalating tensions and prolonging the conflict, with the open acquiescence of neighbouring countries in the region.

At the same time, we see no prerequisites for the situation to improve and, consequently, no grounds for half-measures that merely give the Kiev regime a temporary respite.

We have recently seen a growing number of international calls for a ceasefire and for settling the situation around Ukraine through familiar short-term arrangements.

Our position on these proposals and on the issue as a whole remains unchanged 👉 A sustainable and long-term settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is possible only if its root causes are eliminated.

❗️ First and foremost, this means removing the security threats created by #NATO’s eastward expansion and attempts to draw Kiev into the alliance.

It is equally important to secure guarantees for the restoration and observance of the legitimate rights of the Russian and Russian-speaking population in the territories that remain under the control of the Kiev regime.

🎙 Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's answer to a media question on certain statements regarding the Armenian nuclear power plant (August 22, 2026)

❓ Question: What’s your comment on the recent claims in some countries that the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia poses a threat to regional security?

💬 Maria Zakharova: We have taken note of the statements appearing in the foreign press regarding the safety of the nuclear power plant operating in Armenia. The statements claim, among other things, that it operates using outdated technologies, poses a danger to the entire region, and should be closed altogether.

This is not the first time we have heard such groundless statements. It is also noteworthy that those who make such politically charged assessments keep voicing the same arguments. Nothing of that sort is said about some European countries where nuclear power plants with similar technologies are in operation.

As is known, the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant has a substantial safety margin – its reactor unit is specially adapted to the high seismic activity of the region. Proof of its reliability is the normal response of its safety systems during the devastating Spitak earthquake. After the necessary work, the nuclear power plant was put back into operation in 1995. Currently, Russian and Armenian specialists are carrying out a set of measures to extend the plant’s service life again, up to 2036.

The reliability of the plant is also confirmed by the IAEA. The Agency’s Director General, Rafael Grossi, who visited it in October 2022, acknowledged that all measures to enhance nuclear and physical safety had been taken.

❗️Today, the Metsamor plant plays the role of a system‑forming element in the republic’s energy balance, generating about 30  percent of the electrical power. Stable generation of affordable electricity has enabled Armenia to steadily develop industry and ensure technological progress for many years.  

In the contemporary world, especially against the backdrop of the unsuccessful experience of a number of European countries in transitioning to renewable energy sources, peaceful nuclear energy is a factor of sovereignty and energy security. Shutting down its own nuclear power plant will lead to nothing other than an increase in the state’s dependence on other countries in the energy sector.

One is left to speculate what goals are behind the actions of international players who are themselves developing nuclear energy or who do not have serious problems with their own electricity supply, yet who, now and again, oppose the Russian‑Armenian nuclear project?

We view such misinformation as attempts to create a rift in Russian‑Armenian cooperation in this sector and to hinder the development of initiatives involving Russia. Furthermore, they appear to be promoting fanciful Western projects and technologies that are truly destructive to the region, and they are markedly inferior to Russian ones, including in terms of safety.