ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Ukraine is ready to trade the organs of its people for Western military assistance, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday.

The diplomat said the Kiev regime is rapidly turning the country into a global hub of human organ trafficking.

"The Kiev regime is ready to pay anything for the military assistance it gets. It’s now even come to the human organs of its citizens. A time will probably come when Ukraine will understand the true reason why its pretend US and European friends cared about it. But that won’t be soon enough. Still, better later than never," she said.

"They literally took a knife to the country, but it will be too late to complain. The patient has already signed consent for surgery. The relevant international organizations, with an art worthy of a better cause, are ignoring these obvious and criminal phenomena," Zakharova said.

The diplomat said Western countries are the main beneficiaries of illicit transplantation practices in Ukraine.

"The scenario has been rehearsed in Yugoslavia. All organs that were removed from the people, who were killed then, went to cater to the needs of Westerners," she said.

Thriving business

According to Zakharova, the business of illicit transplantation surgeries is thriving thanks to the high losses that Ukrainian forces suffer at the frontline.

"After relevant surgical procedures, the bodies are burned and the relatives are told that the serviceman is just missing. These dreadful machinations wouldn’t be possible without permission granted by the Kiev regime at the highest level. That’s because they are backed by legislation. The country has essentially become a honeypot for criminals. The money that illicit transplant operators are making in Ukraine is simply insane, and they aren’t going to stop," the diplomat continued.

Ukraine has done a lot to streamline transplantation surgeries.

"For example, on December 16, 2021, the Verkhovnaya Rada adopted Law 5831 On Regulating the Transplantation of Human Anatomical Materials. Under the law, a transplantation now doesn’t require a notarized consent from the living donor or his relatives. The procedure for organ removal from the deceased has also been significantly simplified, even if they didn’t give their consent for donating their organs post-mortem. That means it has been made legal by law, not just a fact on the ground," she said.

"Not only government clinics, but also private clinics have been given the right to perform transplantations. Can you imagine a private clinic in Ukraine these days? On April 4, 2022 the Verkhovnaya Rada adopted Law 5610 On Amending the Tax Code. It exempted organ transplantation surgeries from the VAT. It’s not just about budget revenue, it’s about additional control," Zakharova said.