MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Western countries have already realized the dead·end nature of Ukraine’s "anti·Russia" project, which is why they are reducing funding for the Kiev regime, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

She noted that Kiev panicked after the information about a secret torture prison in the suburbs of the capital was made public and tried to hush up the incident. She also pointed out that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is engaging in "verbal gymnastics" regarding Armenia’s membership in the EAEU.

TASS has compiled the key statements made by the official spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry.

Challenges in the Arctic

Russia is ready to respond to challenges in the Arctic with countermeasures if necessary: "We are focused on constructive cooperation, but we assess the situation realistically, and in response to possible challenges and threats to our country in the Arctic, the necessary countermeasures will be taken."

Reducing funding for Ukraine

Western countries have already realized that the Ukrainian "anti-Russia" project is a dead end, so they are reducing funding for the Kiev regime: "Can this really be attributed to the fact that the Kiev regime has achieved some fantastic victories, accomplishments, or achievements on the battlefield? Of course not, it’s exactly the opposite. So why is funding for the Kiev regime decreasing? Because the West is well aware of the dead·end nature of what was initially discussed so enthusiastically, and now, as they say, they’ve done the math -- and they’re in tears. But they can’t openly say that the project of this very Ukraine, in the form of an ‘anti·Russia,’ has failed."

Taxpayers in the West are asking their governments more and more questions about the holes in national budgets due to aid to the Kiev regime: "Western taxpayers are asking questions to their regimes: how long can they not see their own problems and plug in holes in their own budgets at the expense of Western taxpayers? At the same time, they see that [Vladimir] Zelensky talks about this constantly and loudly, what billions of dollars are being poured into [the administration of the Ukrainian president]."

Torture in Ukraine

The Kiev regime is exterminating the Ukrainian people with the help of punitive forces: "The Kiev regime needs the strongest, physically fit punitive forces not in the trenches. Those who are more powerful, more resilient, those who have undergone the appropriate training are needed by the Kiev regime on the streets of Ukrainian cities, in Kiev, in the Kiev Region, in villages, in rural areas -- to fight not against imaginary enemies, but against their own people, against Ukrainians."

Zelensky receives billions from the West for what will later be called a real genocide carried out by the Kiev regime led by Zelensky against Ukrainians: "This is no longer just repression against those who disagree; it is the Kiev regime’s extermination of the Ukrainian people."

The Kiev regime panicked after the information about the secret torture prison in the suburbs of Kiev was made public and tried to sweep the incident under the carpet: "And, of course, they panicked, called in the police, and sought to hush up what was, in their view, an unfortunate incident."

International human rights organizations are ignoring Kiev’s crimes, including footage of torture chambers, and are encouraging it to commit new ones: "They continue to persistently fail to notice the crimes against humanity being committed in the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In this way, they are encouraging the militants to commit new crimes. They see that the militants have received money for these new crimes."

Elections to the US Congress

The US Congress, even before the latest elections, engaged in open sabotage of all initiatives aimed at normalizing relations with Russia: "It is important to remember and not to forget: in recent years, we have observed a consistent anti·Russian consensus in Congress, along with open sabotage of ideas and initiatives aimed at at least a relative normalization of bilateral relations.

"This is reality. This is why, of course, we will keep an eye on these processes, but we must not forget about analyzing the current developments."

The dialogue between Moscow and Washington "is of a business·like nature," but there is no reason to talk about real shifts in relations yet. "It seems to me that there’s no point in talking about any real progress -- it’s simply not evident. There’s no progress in resolving the issues related to the return of confiscated Russian diplomatic property or the resumption of a direct air service."

Gas contract with Serbia

Extension of the gas contract with Serbia will be discussed after Belgrade makes official requests after formation of the cabinet. "Regarding the announcements made by representatives of the Student List on the negotiations with Russia on a gas contract, I think we will need to return to this topic after the formation of Serbia’s state authorities and their submission of the relevant official requests."

Pashinyan’s fabrications

Pashinyan is engaging in "verbal gymnastics" on the membership in the Eurasian Economic Union: "Of course, we heard yet another set of verbal gymnastics, yet another set of musings by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the choice between the EAEU and the EU. Nothing new. There are probably new turns of phrase, but again we see democratic formulations, misleading the population of Armenia, and no concrete details."

The Armenian authorities need to ask their people about the choice between the EAEU and the EU: "We still don’t understand the logic behind the official Yerevan’s thinking. After all, even the most basic everyday logic tells us that we should first ask the opinion of our own population and then take some action, not the other way around."

The possibility of Armenia returning to full·scale participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) remains with the country, but "no one intends to forcibly keep partners in the organization." Yerevan has the opportunity to clarify its position on CSTO membership at the meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Councils in Moscow on November·9.

Sport

A full·scale return of Russian athletes to all international competitions is "just a matter of time"; the world wants to see real sport. "Because the world -- if we’re not talking about ailing regimes, Western European or NATO ones, but the world, if we’re talking about the global majority, about the people of our planet -- has made its choice: they want to see our athletes, they want to see real competitions, real competition -- not aggression and war, but competition in formats that elevate humanity rather than humiliate it."

Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen’s calls to prevent Russian athletes from participating in European competitions in 2027 are a manifestation of neo·Nazism: "This is neo·Nazism. It has different causes. It has different prerequisites and different origins. It has different forms."

Desecration of a Soviet memorial in the Netherlands

Russia expects the Netherlands to conduct a prompt investigation, identify the perpetrators, and punish them in the case of the desecration of the cemetery of Soviet soldiers near the city of Leusden (province of Utrecht): "We expect the Dutch side, the Dutch authorities, to conduct a prompt investigation into this crime, to identify and punish the perpetrators, and to restore the memorial site to its original state."

Even after the first instance of the vandals desecrating the burial site in July 2026, "the Dutch side assured that the kingdom’s law enforcement agencies were conducting an investigation: However, we still know nothing about their results. And it seems to me that nothing is known in the Netherlands itself. And we are observing that impunity literally gives vandals a free hand and encourages them to commit new crimes."

The Russian language in Ukraine

The critical nature of the situation involving the secret prison in Petropavlovskaya Borshchagovka near Kiev forced Ukrainians to shed the imposed masks of superficial Ukrainian·ness and switch to Russian, the native language for most of them, to fully express the full degree of emotion: "In a surprising way, it seems that the critical nature of the moment forced them to shed those very masks and the superficial Ukrainian·ness they had imposed on themselves. And everyone switched to their native Russian language, with varying degrees of emotionality. And somehow, all of a sudden, everyone began to understand each other.".