Putin's First Diplomat: We Have Clear Evidence That Ukrainian Commanders Had Secret Meeting with Western Allies in Sumy

Moscow has confirmation that another "meeting" of Ukrainian military leaders with their Western counterparts took place at the facility in Sumy, which was hit by the Russian strike.

This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with the newspaper "Kommersant".

Part of the interview was published on the website of the Russian diplomatic mission.

"We have facts about who was at the facility that was hit in Sumy", he noted in the interview.

Lavrov emphasized that there was "several "meetings" of the commanders of the Ukrainian armed forces with their Western colleagues, and NATO servicemen who are there "directly lead".

According to the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, this is a well-known fact.

Lavrov recalled how the "New York Times" has reported on the participation of the Americans in the attacks on Russia from the very beginning of the war and noted that without their participation "the majority of long-range missiles would not have left their bases at all".

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized in the interview that international humanitarian law categorically prohibits the deployment of military facilities and weapons on the territory of civilian objects.

"From the first days of the crisis and even earlier, even during the Minsk agreements, during the "pink" but shattered hopes that they would allow a peaceful resolution of the problem, leaving Ukraine in its territorial integrity without Crimea (they did not want to do this), there were "a million" facts about the deployment of artillery and air defense systems in city blocks near kindergartens“, he added.

The Foreign Minister noted that there are many videos on the Internet in which Ukrainian women shout “the military to get out of shops and playgrounds“. But despite this, this practice continues, Lavrov emphasized.

The UN position

Lavrov also noted that in recent years he has repeatedly drawn the attention of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the need to comply with the requirements of Article 100, namely not to take sides and maintain a balanced position. The Russian Foreign Minister reminded that he must do this as the chief administrative officer, as stated in the UN Charter.

“I have known him for a long time, we maintain common relations, we have worked in various overlapping positions for decades. I told him that he may not receive anything in this position, but he is carrying out the instructions of Western countries regarding the situation in Ukraine," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

The Foreign Minister also noted that Guterres made a statement after the reports of “children and civilians” killed in Sumy, where he noted his commitment to ending violations of international humanitarian law and advocated for an end to the Ukrainian conflict based on respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.