Europe 'going down with Ukraine tied to its legs'

MOSCOW

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday claimed Europe, which is supporting Kyiv in its military conflict with Moscow, “is going down with Ukraine, tied to its legs.”

In a comment on Telegram, Zakharova quoted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who “complained that the pace of sanctions in Europe has slowed down, and Russia now faster adapts to the restrictions,” noting that the restrictive measures led to Russia’s development.

“If it hadn't been for the sanctions of 2014 and beyond, we would have long ago were poisoned by suffocating comfort and oil money -- the 'elite' imposed by the West in the 90s would not have allowed us to develop.

“Falling into recession, Western Europe, which has long lost the skill to survive, is going to the bottom, with Ukraine tied to its feet,” she wrote.

Zakharova added that “in the middle of the 20th century, Western Europe was saved from itself by the Soviet people,” meaning World War II, when Germany unleashed the war on the rest of Europe.

She said that now “it is necessary to think twice” to save the Europe from itself again.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday on Thursday said German tanks are again threatening Russia, just 80 years after the end of World War II, referring to the German decision to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.