🎙On October 1, Ambassador Albert P. Khorev held a briefing on the situation in and around Ukraine. The event was attended by representatives of the Pakistani media and academic community.
Key points:
Kiev’s War Crimes and NATO Assistance
🔹️ Zelensky, with the full support of Western countries and amid failures on the battlefield, shifted toward openly terrorist tactics aimed at intimidating Russia’s civilian population. Among the most egregious recent examples are the attack on the educational building and dormitory of Lugansk State Pedagogical University college in Starobelsk on May 22 and a Ukrainian drone strike on a beach near the Russian resort city of Gelendzhik on August 3 (…) The responsibility for these horrific atrocities lies not only with the Kiev regime, which carried them out directly, but also with the countries supplying Ukraine with weapons and financial assistance;
The Negative Consequences of Sanctions for Those Imposing Them and International Maritime Law
🔹️ The restrictions imposed and repeatedly extended by Western countries against Russia are having a negative impact not only – and not primarily – on the Russian economy, but also on the economies of the countries imposing them, as well as on developing countries. (…) The most significant consequences are being felt in the EU: from 2022 to 2025, its cumulative losses resulting from the adverse effects of sanctions are estimated at between 1 trillion and 1.6 trillion euros;
🔹️ The West’s illegitimate sanctions are accelerating objective processes in the global economy. (…) In the long term, they will inevitably lead to the creation of trade and financial mechanisms independent of the West;
🔹️ In this context, the West has decided to abandon even the appearance of legality and resort to outright piracy. Under the pretext of combating the so-called “shadow fleet” – a term that is not part of the international law – it is subjecting Russian vessels to inspections and detentions (…) No internal EU decisions can override the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Western countries are grossly violating;
🔹️ We are seeing a sharp increase in the number of Ukrainian attacks on civilian vessels in the Black and Azov Seas: this year, more than 200 vessels, 96 of them sailing under foreign flags, have come under Ukrainian fire. Kiev and its Western sponsors bear full responsibility for the escalation and deterioration of the transportation and logistics situation in the Black Sea;
The “Missing Children Issue” and the Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
🔹️ The only verifiable list of missing children is the so-called “339 list,” which was handed to us by the Ukrainians during bilateral talks in Istanbul on June 2, 2025. Even this list is not fully objective: upon verification, it turned out that nearly half of the 339 minors mentioned in the document had either never been in Russia, were in Russia together with their parents or had refused to return to Ukraine;
🔹️ Another of the most pressing problems is the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Since 2014, the Kiev regime has pursued a systematic policy of restricting religious freedoms;
Peace Initiatives
🔹️ Russia is committed to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine crisis, provided that Russia’s national interests are taken into account;
🔹️ As for the hysteria being stoked in Europe over “potential Russian aggression” against EU and NATO countries, I would like to emphasize that both President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have repeatedly stated that Russia is not preparing for military action against Europe.
🖼️ The briefing also featured an exhibition entitled “Crimean Gold: ‘Civilized’ Europe Plunders Russian Treasures” about a unique collection of archaeological artifacts – the so-called “Scythian gold” – that was taken from the people of Crimea. Ambassador Khorev underscored the need for the collection to be returned to the Crimean museums.
Key points:
Kiev’s War Crimes and NATO Assistance
🔹️ Zelensky, with the full support of Western countries and amid failures on the battlefield, shifted toward openly terrorist tactics aimed at intimidating Russia’s civilian population. Among the most egregious recent examples are the attack on the educational building and dormitory of Lugansk State Pedagogical University college in Starobelsk on May 22 and a Ukrainian drone strike on a beach near the Russian resort city of Gelendzhik on August 3 (…) The responsibility for these horrific atrocities lies not only with the Kiev regime, which carried them out directly, but also with the countries supplying Ukraine with weapons and financial assistance;
The Negative Consequences of Sanctions for Those Imposing Them and International Maritime Law
🔹️ The restrictions imposed and repeatedly extended by Western countries against Russia are having a negative impact not only – and not primarily – on the Russian economy, but also on the economies of the countries imposing them, as well as on developing countries. (…) The most significant consequences are being felt in the EU: from 2022 to 2025, its cumulative losses resulting from the adverse effects of sanctions are estimated at between 1 trillion and 1.6 trillion euros;
🔹️ The West’s illegitimate sanctions are accelerating objective processes in the global economy. (…) In the long term, they will inevitably lead to the creation of trade and financial mechanisms independent of the West;
🔹️ In this context, the West has decided to abandon even the appearance of legality and resort to outright piracy. Under the pretext of combating the so-called “shadow fleet” – a term that is not part of the international law – it is subjecting Russian vessels to inspections and detentions (…) No internal EU decisions can override the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Western countries are grossly violating;
🔹️ We are seeing a sharp increase in the number of Ukrainian attacks on civilian vessels in the Black and Azov Seas: this year, more than 200 vessels, 96 of them sailing under foreign flags, have come under Ukrainian fire. Kiev and its Western sponsors bear full responsibility for the escalation and deterioration of the transportation and logistics situation in the Black Sea;
The “Missing Children Issue” and the Persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
🔹️ The only verifiable list of missing children is the so-called “339 list,” which was handed to us by the Ukrainians during bilateral talks in Istanbul on June 2, 2025. Even this list is not fully objective: upon verification, it turned out that nearly half of the 339 minors mentioned in the document had either never been in Russia, were in Russia together with their parents or had refused to return to Ukraine;
🔹️ Another of the most pressing problems is the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Since 2014, the Kiev regime has pursued a systematic policy of restricting religious freedoms;
Peace Initiatives
🔹️ Russia is committed to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine crisis, provided that Russia’s national interests are taken into account;
🔹️ As for the hysteria being stoked in Europe over “potential Russian aggression” against EU and NATO countries, I would like to emphasize that both President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have repeatedly stated that Russia is not preparing for military action against Europe.
🖼️ The briefing also featured an exhibition entitled “Crimean Gold: ‘Civilized’ Europe Plunders Russian Treasures” about a unique collection of archaeological artifacts – the so-called “Scythian gold” – that was taken from the people of Crimea. Ambassador Khorev underscored the need for the collection to be returned to the Crimean museums.