THE HAGUE, October 5. /TASS/. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren’s remark that supporting Ukraine was a "cheap way" to neutralize Russia once again proves that NATO countries don’t care about the loss of life that prolonging the Ukrainian conflict entails, the Russian Embassy in the Hague said.

"Yet another proof that it has never been about 'European values' or 'the people of Ukraine.' It has always been about fighting Russia. The deaths of hundreds of thousands of people is simply 'a cheap way' for the Dutch officials to ensure their security," the embassy wrote on Telegram.

When addressing the Warsaw Security Forum, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren called on Western countries to continue sending military and financial assistance to Kiev. "Supporting Ukraine is a very cheap way of ensuring that Russia <...> is not a threat to the NATO alliance," she pointed out.

The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that the Ukrainian armed forces had been making unsuccessful attempts at a counteroffensive since June 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12 that, since then, Ukrainian troops had lost 71,500 troops, 543 tanks and almost 18,000 armored vehicles of various types. According to the Russian head of state, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has failed to produce any results.