MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russia calls on the West to stop whipping up hysteria around Ukraine, this affects European security and the peaceful settlement in Donbass, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Wednesday.
"We urge the Western countries to stop whipping up anti-Russian hysteria, which is actually already anti-Ukrainian as well, we urge them to stop pumping Kiev with weapons. These actions negatively affect both the settlement of the conflict in Donbass and the general situation on the track of security and stability in Europe," the diplomat said.
She stressed that the hysteria fueled by the West put a serious psychological and moral pressure on the Ukrainian population. Zakharova pointed out that "the condition of the people, their morale is of importance, since regretfully any abrupt move, including along the line of contact, any shot, any provocation, may eventually lead to some fatal consequences".
With this in view, Zakharova drew attention to an appeal from President Vladimir Zelensky to the Ukrainian nationals. "He said plainly that Ukraine is being intimidated by a major war, not us - I would want to draw attention to this, once again setting a new date for an invasion. Here I would also draw attention that it is not us". "We have been saying exactly the opposite - we are not going to, we have no such plans, we are holding exercises," the diplomat pointed out.
Over the recent months, the West has been repeatedly reporting about an alleged possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia, giving the ‘exact dates’ and even the time, shifting them time and again. The Russian side has been consistently rejecting these allegations. President Vladimir Putin has stressed that Moscow does not want a war, and in order to avert it Moscow initiated negotiations on security guarantees.