MOSCOW, July 25 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine’s criminal cases against Russian politicians are artificial. Their aim is to maintain an anti-Russian sentiment in Ukrainian society, Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian State Duma Committee for International Affairs, said in an interview with Itar-Tass on Friday.
Ukraine has launched criminal proceedings against Sergei Mironov, the leader of A Just Russia party, on charges of helping the militias fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region; LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, have been suspected of “financing separatist actions.”
“The aforesaid persons have been charged with financing actions designed to change territorial borders and the state border of Ukraine,” Zoryan Shkiryak, the Ukraine interior minister’s aide, said.
Criminal proceedings have also been opened against Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for “creating illegal paramilitary and armed units.”
“All aforesaid accusations are artificial and can hardly have any proof. I believe that their main aim is to maintain an anti-Russian sentiment in Ukrainian society,” Pushkov said, adding it was convenient to hype the theme in the media for propaganda purposes.
“Ukraine has been accusing Russia of all possible sins. This is the only way how the Ukrainian leadership can explain why the country is gradually turning into a black hole, and they are using this argument in full measure,” Pushkov concluded.
Ukraine’s criminal charges did not frighten Sergei Mironov, the leader of A Just Russia party, who said he was more determined to help the people of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as much as he could.
“There are no hurdles or sanctions that will forbid me to help those who are in trouble and who desperately needs help. The people in southeast Ukraine are paying for the irresponsible behavior and adventurism of a handful of Ukrainian politicians with their lives,” Mironov told Itar-Tass.
“The power of my solidarity and desire to help (the population of southeast Ukraine) does not have a limit,” the Russian politician stressed.
Meanwhile, Mironov’s party colleagues have been sarcastic about the criminal proceedings initiated against their leader.
“It is quite ironic,” Mikhail Yemelyanov, the first deputy head of the party’s parliamentary faction, told Itar-Tass on Friday.
“A curst cow has short horns,” he said, adding that the criminal charges could hardly have any serious consequences for Mironov.
Moreover, Yemelyanov has a strong belief that “those who are initiating these criminal proceedings today will find themselves behind bars” in a historical perspective.