The word “war” does not fall
Putin’s spy chief: West wants to destroy Russia
3/3/2022, 7:37 p.m
The Cold War is now “hot,” says Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign espionage. The word “war” for the attack on Ukraine remains unspoken, instead the supposed justifications for the invasion are repeated.
The head of Russia’s foreign espionage agency, Sergei Naryshkin, has accused the US and other Western countries of wanting to destroy Russia. “The masks have fallen. The West doesn’t just want to surround Russia with a new Iron Curtain,” the foreign intelligence service SWR quoted its boss as saying. “We are talking about attempts to destroy our state, about its ‘annulment’, as is said nowadays in a ‘tolerant’ liberal-fascist environment.”
Russia attacked Ukraine a week ago. As a result, the USA, the EU and numerous other countries imposed unprecedented sanctions. Since the US and its allies have neither the opportunity nor the courage to “try this in an open and honest military-political confrontation,” they are making “vile attempts” at a full-scale blockade, Naryshkin said. “The most disgusting thing is that this is happening under false slogans about the need to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and European security.” The goal of the USA is not to create another center of power.
Naryshkin said a “hot war” was already raging between Russia and the West. “Western politicians and commentators love to refer to what is happening as the ‘new cold war,'” he said. This is due to the fact that the dispute took place in distant areas in the second half of the 20th century. But now “the war has reached the borders of our homeland,” said Naryshkin. “So for us it’s definitely not ‘cold’, it’s quite ‘hot’.”
Ukraine reportedly “minimum barrier” to Russia
So far, Russia has not described the war of aggression against Ukraine as a war, but as a “special operation”. Naryshkin emphasized: “As far as the future Ukraine is concerned, it will of course be determined by the Ukrainians. But it will be a completely different Ukraine and a different story.”
Moscow claims that the Ukrainian leadership, headed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Jewish descent, consists of Nazis. For Russia, the neutral status of the neighboring country is of critical importance. “This is the smallest territorial barrier that our country needs to ward off attacks from the west,” said the SWR boss.
At the end of the speech, Naryshkin said: “The war in the post-Soviet space – in case anyone hasn’t noticed – hasn’t stopped for 30 years. And now Russia has a real chance to put an end to it.”