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Russia bears no responsibility for lives of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine — diplomat

Maria Zakharova noted that any armed activities against Russian forces will be immediately stopped and armed groups of foreign mercenaries will be eliminated

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. Moscow is not responsible for the lives of foreign nationals who are fighting against Russian troops in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"We would like to once again draw our partners’ attention to the fact that we are not responsible for the lives of our citizens who have opted to take part in illegal armed activities in Ukraine," she said.

"Any armed activities against Russian forces will be immediately stopped and armed groups of foreign mercenaries will be eliminated," she stressed.

The ministry spokeswoman recalled that on February 27 UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that her country supported Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s call on foreigners to come to Ukraine to join territorial defense units. "Obviously, on the one hand, they justify the involvement of militants, these British private military companies, and, on the other hand, they seek to use their inevitable deaths to fan the anti-Russian hysteria and Russophobia in the United Kingdom," she said.

"We ask those countries and governments, foreign ministers and other officials who are supporting this initiative to recruit volunteers to fight against Russia in Ukraine not to call Moscow later and plead for help clarify the situation with their nationals. We will tell you what you are saying now. It was their choice. And you helped them make it," Zakharova stressed.

"Truss’ cynical attempt to literally capitalize on the blood has repelled even her party mates," the Russian diplomat noted. "They rushed to disavow it. The UK government issues a statement on February 28 warning British nationals against going to Ukraine, saying that participation in combat operations or helping combatants in that country could be qualifies as a crime under the British anti-terrorist laws and carry a criminal punishment. Disavowing Truss’ statements has become another British tradition."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.

When clarifying the unfolding developments, the Russian Defense Ministry reassured that Russian troops are not targeting Ukrainian cities, but are limited to surgically striking and incapacitating Ukrainian military infrastructure. There are no threats whatsoever to the civilian population.