Russia

EU distributes military orders to Ukraine to attack Russia — Russian Foreign Ministry

TASS English · 2026-07-16

AI SUMMARY

• What happened: The Russian Foreign Ministry accused the European Union of distributing military orders to Ukraine, claiming that this supports terrorist attacks against Russia and reflects the EU's increasing involvement in the conflict. • Why it matters: This statement highlights rising tensions between Russia and the EU, as well as the potential for escalating military support for Ukraine, which could further complicate the ongoing conflict and regional stability. • What to watch next: Monitor the reactions from EU member states regarding military support for Ukraine, as well as any shifts in public opinion in Southeastern Europe about their involvement in the conflict.

EU distributes military orders to Ukraine to attack Russia — Russian Foreign Ministry Zakharova said that the EU leadership openly uses such "summits" as a lever to force the Balkan and other states "to demonstrate loyalty to the militaristic aspirations of Euro-Atlantic circlesMOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. The European Union is becoming a distributor of military orders for the Ukrainian army to make products for terrorist attacks on Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said about on the so-called Ukraine-Eastern Europe summit. "From the rostrum of the ‘summit,’ Ursula von der Leyen announced the allocation to [Vladimir] Zelensky's regime of another 1 billion euros from a two-year 90 billion euro EU loan for the implementation of the agreement she signed with Zelensky aimed at further bringing together the military-industrial capabilities of Ukraine and the EU and providing for an increase in joint production by the end of 2026, including in Europe, of UAVs and means of combating them," the diplomat noted. "This is how the European Union becomes a distributor of military orders in the interests of the armed forces of Ukraine for the making of products for terrorist attacks on civilians and civilian objects in Russia, which again testifies to its growing involvement in the conflict." Zakharova said that the EU leadership openly uses such "summits" as a lever to force the Balkan and other states "to demonstrate loyalty to the militaristic aspirations of Euro-Atlantic circles. But the discipline of the stick is starting to fail. There is a growing number of countries in Europe that publicly admit that they lack the ability to remain committed to Brussels' course of endless assistance to Ukraine. The failure of the multiplying regional formats to promote the bursting Anti-Russia project is also becoming obvious. "There is also no doubt that the public of the states of Southeastern Europe perfectly sees the essence of the Western plans that are fraught with unleashing a full-scale conflict in Europe." The composition of the participants The diplomat also added that the Kiev regime, as before, failed to gather participants at the highest level. "Of the nine invited countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro), only half were represented by top officials. Head of the European Commission, U. von der Leyen, acted as the ‘star’ guest, assuming the role of a close observer of everything that was happening," she continued. Zakharova also drew attention to the final declaration of the event, which called for tougher sanctions against Russia. "However, this gathering was not going to deviate from the ‘general line’ of EU’s Brussels to continue Russophobic games and build up confrontation with Russia. This is reflected in the final declaration, which calls for tougher sanctions against our country, increased military and financial support for Ukraine, and assistance to its Euro-Atlantic integration. In terms of its semantic load, it differs little from the anti-Russian statements adopted at such gatherings. Something similar was, for example, approved following the results of the regular meeting of the coalition of the willing held two days earlier in Paris," she said. The diplomat pointed out that Kiev and the summit participants had forgotten about the most important date for Ukraine - July 16, 1990, when the Declaration of its Sovereignty was adopted. "Formally, the summit was timed to coincide with the ‘holiday’ established by Vladimir Zelensky five years ago - the Day of Ukrainian Statehood (it was originally linked to the Day of the Baptism of Rus on July 28, but after the change of the church calendar it shifted to July 15). At the same time, neither the hosts nor the guests even remembered another more significant date for Ukraine - July 16, 1990, when the Declaration of its State Sovereignty was adopted. This is not surprising, since Kiev has long forgotten about the then-solemnly proclaimed basic principles of Ukrainian statehood - the non-aligned, neutral and nuclear-weapon-free status of the country. It was on this basis that the international community later recognized Ukraine's independence," Zakharova concluded. 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Source: TASS English
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