Russia claimed on Monday that Germany’s foreign policy toward Ukraine was characterized by revenge fantasies.
“The German government is no longer hiding the fact that it is bent on revenge for past defeats against our country,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a written statement issued after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s annual press conference at the beginning of the year.
Part of this “revanchism” is Berlin’s unconditional support for Ukraine, the statement said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow criticized that 80 years after the end of World War II, German weapons were once again used on a large scale to target Russian territory.
The statement also noted that German armed forces, known as the Bundeswehr, are already stationed in Lithuania. However, if Berlin attempted this in Ukraine, the soldiers would become “legitimate targets” like other foreign troops, the statement said. The statement was referring to discussions about Germany joining international security forces after the war in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, claiming his security was threatened by NATO’s ambitions in the neighboring country.
To end hostilities, Moscow not only demands that Ukraine abandon its membership of NATO but also makes major territorial concessions.
