Russia says EU 'posing as a peacemaker' and investing in the Ukraine war

Russia's foreign ministry says all EU citizens and agencies involved in delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine 'will be held responsible'

The Russian government accused the European Union of "posing as a peacemaker" in the Ukraine-Russia conflict while investing in the war themselves. 

In a press release issued by Russia's foreign ministry, circulated by its embassy in Malta, the government maintains that the Kyiv regime came to power in an anti-constitutional coup - a reference to the 2014 Euromaiden protests.

"The EU stood in silence while the population of Donbass was being exterminated and the Russian language was strangled in Ukraine. It disregarded our endless calls to take notice of the predominance of Nazis in the Ukrainian authorities, and the socioeconomic blockade and murder of innocent civilians in the southeast of Ukraine," the foreign ministry said. 

The ministry added that the EU's decision to send weapons to Ukrainian militarists marked the end of Euro-integration as a pacifist project. 

"The EU has irrevocably taken the side of the Kyiv regime, which waged a policy of genocide against part of its own population."

It continued by accusing Brussels of Orwellian newspeak. "They have announced the intention to 'invest' in the war launched in Ukraine in 2014 through a mechanism with a self-explanatory name, the Europe Peace Foundation."

"The EU citizens and agencies involved in the delivery of lethal weapons, fuel and lubricants to the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be held responsible for any consequences of these actions during the ongoing special military operation."

Russia describes the invasion of Ukraine as a 'special military operation'.

The EU took prompt action against Russia over its military attack on Ukraine. Apart from asset freezes and wider sanctions against Russian banks,  businesses and oligarchs, the European Council has banned key Russian banks from the SWIFT system while suspending the broadcasting activities of Sputnik and RT/Russia Today.

On Tuesday Malta suspended its citizenship-by-investment scheme for Russians and Belarusians, citing difficulties in due diligence arising from the ongoing conflict.

READ ALSOMalta suspends golden passports scheme for Russians, Belarusians