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Russian diplomat says Zelensky misleads Western sponsors as he seeks additional aid

Rodion Miroshnik said Zelensky's statements may indicate that he takes his vis-a-vis for fools "whose every new thought erases the previous one"

MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's statements that Ukrainian forces have allegedly not ceded a single settlement this year is an attempt to mislead Western sponsors in order to receive new funding, said Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's envoy for the crimes of the Kiev regime.

Zelensky earlier said on Fox News that Ukraine had not lost a single village over the past year, and then repeated this several more times during a trip to Norway.

"This is a new attempt to mess with Western sponsors by saying, ‘All right, we haven't captured anything, but we haven't surrendered anything either!’ The idea is based on the fact that the vast majority of Americans do not even know where Ukraine is located, much less Donbass and its environs. And finally, the call should be ‘You gave too little for a counteroffensive, so at least give us enough for strategic defense! We are fighting for you!" Miroshnik told TASS.

The diplomat said Zelensky's statements may indicate that he takes his vis-a-vis for fools "whose every new thought erases the previous one." But the diplomat expressed doubt that the West had forgotten about the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive and the fact that many settlements, including Artyomovsk (known in Ukraine as Bakhmut) and Soledar, had fallen under the control of Russian forces.

Ukrainian authorities admitted the loss of Artyomovsk in the spring of 2023. In February 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced the liberation of Soledar. In August, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the advancement of Russian forces in the Kupyansk area. In late November, the Russian Defense Ministry said units of the battlegroup South had liberated the village of Artyomovskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic.

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