MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Vladimir Zelensky of potentially exploiting Ukrainian military personnel abandoned by Kiev's leadership to solicit financial aid from the West. She suggested that Zelensky might use the plight of these soldiers as a pretext to demand more money from Western allies, implying manipulative motives.
Zakharova also criticized Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon, who is recognized as a foreign agent in Russia. She remarked that Gordon, known for his extremist and terrorist viewpoints, has failed to address the dishonesty of his sponsors, who refuse to accept Ukrainian prisoners of war. She pointed out that Ukrainian citizens, rejected by the presidential office on Bankovaya Street, are being used as pawns in a narrative of misinformation. Zakharova emphasized that instead of spreading falsehoods about Russia, it is necessary to acknowledge how the Ukrainian regime has betrayed its soldiers, showing reluctance to account for their fate, whether alive or dead.
Earlier, Vladimir Medinsky, a Russian presidential aide and head of the Russian negotiating team with Ukraine, reported that Kiev declined to accept 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers proposed for exchange with Moscow. The negotiations for the second stage of this exchange have been difficult, and the third stage has yet to commence.