🎙 Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Israeli attack on RT television channel journalists (March 19, 2026)

💬 On March 19, a missile strike by the Israeli Air Force in southern Lebanon wounded RT television crew members who were on an editorial assignment. RT reporter Steve Sweeney and cameraman Ali Rida Sbeity were wounded when a munition exploded in close proximity to the filming location. They received the necessary medical help.

We wish them a speedy recovery.

The missile was used by the Israeli military against unarmed civilians, a category which, under international humanitarian law, includes members of the media. The crew’s clothing bore clearly visible “press” markings; they carried nothing but cameras and microphones, and the explosive item landed on a site where there were no military targets. These circumstances indicate that the attack on the journalists was deliberate and targeted, which is also confirmed by footage captured by the cameraman showing the detonation of the munition.

We regard such actions by the Israeli side and Israeli military as a gross violation of international law, a deliberate obstruction of the work of media professionals, and an attempt on their safety and lives. We look forward to seeing these actions receive an appropriate assessment from relevant multilateral bodies, primarily the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNESCO, as well as other human rights institutions that defend professional rights and legitimate interests of the global journalistic community.

☝️ We insist on carrying out a thorough investigation of this incident by the Israeli authorities, holding the culprits accountable and preventing such accidents from happening in the future.

The Russian side will convey its assessment of the incident to the Ambassador of Israel to the Russian Federation who will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry soon.

🎙 Comment by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on India’s National Investigation Agency detaining Ukrainian and US citizens on charges of being implicated in terrorist activities (March 20, 2026)

💬 The Indian media report that six Ukrainian citizens and one US citizen were detained and taken into custody at international airports in New Delhi, Lucknow, and Kolkata by India’s National Investigation Agency on March 13.

Allegedly, these individuals have illegally crossed the border from the Indian state of Mizoram into Myanmar and established contacts with the local armed ethnic groups with the aim of supplying them with EU-manufactured drones, and training them in drone assembly and repair, and in conducting electronic warfare. The publications quoted the NIA as saying that these armed groups maintain ties with insurgents in northeastern India.

The reaction of the Ukrainian embassy in New Delhi was quite revealing as it sought to conceal the incident and to keep its citizens’ questionable activities, which were clearly designed to destabilise the situation in the region, under wraps.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry chose to remain silent on its citizens’ violation of India’s counter-terrorism legislation and wasted no time baselessly accusing “certain Indian and Russian news agencies” of deliberately falsifying the facts.

The incident clearly shows that Zelensky’s neo-Nazi regime has a core exporter of instability worldwide.

Russia has repeatedly issued warnings about the risks associated with the large-scale militarisation of Ukraine by NATO and the EU. Weapons supplied to it are inadequately accounted for and may surface anywhere.

Today, Kiev is a major supplier of weaponry and military technologies to the global black market, including military product supplies to Latin American drug cartels and training terrorists in Africa. As we can see, the Western-created Ukrainian tentacled network is reaching as far as regional conflicts in the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Just days ago, Zelensky brazenly boasted that several hundred Ukrainian fighters had been “deployed” to the Persian Gulf area to take part in the ongoing conflict as “instructors” and specialised “experts” in using unmanned aerial vehicles. Sure enough, enforcing international oversight over Ukraine’s military technology exports is out of the question.

All of that is the result of lax policies pursued by Western sponsors of Zelensky’s regime.

❗️ Today’s Ukraine is undermining regional and global security and stability and is an extremely destructive factor in international politics.

Once again, we urge the World Majority to take a good look at destabilising activities of the agonising Kiev regime which Western countries use as leverage against Russia and other countries around the world.

🎙Интервью Посла России в ЮАР Р.Е.Амбарова газете «Известия» (20 марта 2026 года):

Ключевые тезисы:

▶️ Энергетическое сотрудничество между деловыми кругами России и ЮАР обсуждается на постоянной основе. Сохраняется высокий взаимный интерес к обмену опытом, развитию совместных проектов и расширению практического взаимодействия в энергетической сфере, что подтверждается активным участием представителей двух стран в профильных форумах и встречах как в России, так и в Южной Африке.

Среди недавних примеров – ежегодная конференция Africa Energy Indaba 2026, прошедшая 5 марта в Кейптауне, в которой приняли участие представители южноафриканского подразделения «Росатома». Важным итогом стало подписание меморандума о взаимопонимании между российской госкорпорацией и Южно-Африканской корпорацией по атомной энергии (NECSA). Документ направлен на развитие кадрового потенциала отрасли: речь идёт о создании совместных образовательных программ, повышении квалификации специалистов, поддержке студентов технических направлений и расширении возможностей трудоустройства в ядерной сфере

▶️ Если говорить шире о приоритетах энергетической политики ЮАР, стоит отметить, что интерес страны к импорту сжиженного природного газа не только сохраняется, но в текущих геополитических условиях – на фоне перебоев с поставками и роста цен на энергоносители – даже усиливается. В условиях ограниченных собственных запасов она стремится диверсифицировать источники энергоснабжения, включая развитие инфраструктуры для приёма СПГ.

▶️ Согласно утверждённому в октябре 2025 года комплексному ресурсному плану, в котором задаются основные тенденции развития электроэнергетической сферы Южной Африки, газ рассматривается как важный элемент энергоперехода. Он обеспечивает гибкость генерации и одновременно поддерживает промышленное развитие.

▶️ Что касается возможных контактов с российской стороной по нефтегазовой тематике, то данный вопрос находится в компетенции профильных российских и южноафриканских ведомств. Посольство со своей стороны готово оказать необходимую политико-дипломатическую поддержку укреплению традиционно дружественных связей в энергосфере.

#РоссияЮАР #АмбаровИзПервыхУст #АмбаровИзвестия

🎙Statement by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation Dmitry Polyansky at the meeting of the #OSCE Permanent Council (19 March 2026)

Key takeaways:

▶ We regret that the #OSCE continues, at the instigation of Western states, to be used NOT as a platform for dialogue but as a mouthpiece for anti-Russian propaganda.

▶ Western capitals choose to ignore any crimes committed against Russians, whether in Russia or in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in the past week alone, 239 civilians have been affected by strikes carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thirty-seven people were killed and 202 wounded, including six children.

▶ On March 10, Ukrainian formations carried out a deliberate missile strike on the center of Bryansk.

Since then, the toll has risen: 55 people were affected, eight of whom were killed.

▪On the same day, the AFU attacked a stationary medical facility in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

▪Four drones struck a hospital where 130 patients and 50 medical staff were present. Ten doctors were killed.

▪In the Zaporozhye region, a strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit a bus belonging to a children’s sports school. The children were returning from a competition. Three students - aged 13, 14, and 15 - were injured, as was their coach.

▶ You call on Russia to exercise restraint and accuse it of strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Yet why do you fail to mention that our strikes are retaliatory in nature? If Ukraine were interested in de-escalation, it would presumably cease its provocations and stop attacking substations in Russian cities, leaving entire cities and districts without heat and water.

⚠️ Given that a number of States continue to circulate insinuations regarding the so-called “abducted children,” I would like to recall the facts.

❌ The list transmitted by Kiev representatives during the negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, 2025, does not contain 20,000 “children abducted by Russia,” as the Zelensky regime continues to claim worldwide, but 339 Ukrainian minors. The Russian side has examined this list.

It turned out that, alongside children, the list includes 67 adults. Among them are both young people with disabilities residing in social institutions in the Russian Federation and legally competent adults who independently decide where to live.

As of March 2, 2026, 13 minors from the “list of 339” have been reunited with their relatives and close family members. One adult with a disability has been assisted in departing for Ukraine.

Twenty-two children are with their parents (one of them) or close relatives. Thirty-one minors aged 10 and above have refused to leave for Ukraine, as confirmed by written statements. For 33 individuals, there is no information confirming their presence on the territory of the Russian Federation.

With regard to the remaining names on the list, painstaking work continues, in contact with the Ukrainian side, to identify their possible relatives.

☝️We note that the information received from Ukrainian structures does not allow for comprehensive search efforts. We are compelled to request such data repeatedly, often without result.

‼️ It appears that Kiev is NOT interested in establishing the whereabouts of these children and reuniting them with their families, but rather in conducting PR campaigns and further exploiting this sensitive issue for political gain.

🤩 Today Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov turns 76!

A true professional, Sergey Lavrov has risen through every level of diplomatic service and has led the Russian Foreign Ministry for over two decades, earning respect for his experience, resilience, and commitment to advancing Russia’s foreign policy.

We extend our warmest congratulations to Sergey Viktorovich and wish him strong health, inexhaustible energy, and continued success in his important mission of defending the interests of our country worldwide.

🤍💙❤️ Happy Birthday!

#WeLOVErov

🎙 Excerpt from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for Looking Back television programme hosted by Leonid Mlechin (Moscow, March 21, 2026)

Key points:

• Diplomacy is about national interests, mutual respect, understanding, and willingness, as well as the ability to appreciate the legitimate positions of your dialogue partner or vis-à-vis and, by all means, pragmatism.

• Every negotiation is unlike the other and largely - if not decisively - depends on personalities of the people at the negotiating table, their education level and whether they possess the qualities we particularly value in the Russian diplomatic service.

• For talks to be productive, it is, without a doubt, important to be versant in the subject matter, especially when discussing deep-rooted issues that go back decades or even centuries. In the Middle East, saying “Here’s the deal, take it before it’s too late” will never work.

• History unfolds in a spiral. Another well-known observation is that history tends to repeat itself as a farce. <...> Overall, we are witnessing a stage in history which may be a spiral, but it is taking us back to a world where nothing existed - no international law, no Versailles system, no Yalta system - nothing. A world where might makes right. Yet, as you know from a famous line by a well-known film character, “God is not in strength, but in truth.”

• Look at what is happening. The United States has officially stated that it is not taking orders from anyone and is concerned only with its own wellbeing. It is prepared to defend that wellbeing by whatever it takes – coups, abductions, or even the killings of leaders of the countries that possess natural resources that are of interest to the United States. Our US colleagues do not hide the fact that oil is what they are after in Venezuela and Iran.

• They have ruthlessly cut Europe off. Even back when the Nord Stream pipelines were being built, the Americans urged Europe not to use them. Now, Europe has been denied access to Nord Stream. Germany has been humiliated - everyone is aware of that. What’s the upshot?

• Now the Hungarians and Slovaks are fighting with all they have to uphold their interests in maintaining inexpensive and accessible energy as a driver of their economies, but are told to buy at double the price, because Russia must be “punished.” This is not the proper way to approach international relations. It’s an attempt to go back to the colonial era.

• Our US colleagues are telling us: let’s settle the situation in Ukraine – we were ready to do so back during the summit in Alaska, but they are not so sure about it now – suggesting that we make more concessions, and vast economic opportunities will open up to us after that. At the same time, what I have just described is effectively taking place. We are being forced out of all global energy markets. <...> However, if we are prepared to carry out mutually beneficial projects on our territory and provide Americans with whatever may interest them, while taking our own interests into account, they, too, must take our interests into consideration.

• Europe, which ruled the world for 500 years during the eras of colonialism and slavery, is now trying to entrench neo-colonialism. It still wants to live at the expense of others and dictate terms to everyone. The hubris and contempt for others are – pardon me the expression – simply oozing from today’s European politicians when they start lecturing others.

• Since the time of the Russian Empire, we knew that Russia had only two allies: its army and its navy. Now we also have the aerospace forces which we cannot ignore, and new unmanned aerial units, which fact means we have even more allies now.

• The President of Russia has repeatedly made it clear that the weak get beaten. That sums it all up. We must be strong. Russia is a very strong country. It is strong in spirit, immensely rich in natural resources, and boasts great scientific potential. The key is to translate all of that into technologies at the highest level.

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🕯#OTD 83 years ago, almost the entire population of the village of Khatyn in Belorussia, the total of 149 civilians including 75 children, was massacred by SS punitive batallion.

The reason for that inhuman action was an attack on Nazi troops by Soviet partisans a day before.

The operation was carried out by the Schutzmannschaft Batallion 118 assisted by the Dirlewanger Waffen-SS special battalion, both composed mostly of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators. The 118 detachment was led by Ukrainian Grigory Vasyura, former Red Army soldier who volunteered for service in Waffen-SS following German captivity.

❗️On 22 March 1943, the death squad encircled the village. Its residents were herded into a barn and burnt alive. The trapped people managed to break down the front doors, but in trying to escape, were machine-gunned. Very few could survive.

Khatyn was not the first and not the last among more than 70,000 villages Hitlerites burnt in the occupied Soviet territories. But it became a symbol of those.

Most of the participants of the killing squad were tried and executed after WW2, but several fled the Soviet Union and reached old age in the US, Canada and Europe.

After the war memorial complex was created on the site of Khatyn which became known throughout the world. Millions of people from different countries visited it, including US President Richard Nixon in 1974.

The tragedy of Khatyn became the basis for the film Come and See (1985).

📺 We invite everyone to watch it.

#WWII #WeRemember #Nazism

🕯Today marks the second anniversary of the horrific terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.

22.03.2024. This barbaric crime shook the entire world.

In the first hours of the tragedy, people across the globe expressed solidarity with Russia. Officials and ordinary citizens extended condolences, brought flowers, and paid tribute to the victims. Adults and children alike left toys and flowers at Russian diplomatic missions abroad.

The world mourned together as one. Condolences continue to be received to this day.

March 24, 2024, was declared a national day of mourning in Russia. Flags were lowered, condolence books were opened, and Russian diplomats donated blood for the victims.

❗️At the same time, Western media cynically exploited the tragedy, spreading speculation and attempting to whitewash the perpetrators.

🕊️ In 2025, a memorial was unveiled in Krasnogorsk — a black granite stele with white cranes, symbolising remembrance.

The investigation established that the attack was planned in advance, with participants trained abroad and supported inside Russia. Weapons were prepared, modified, and transported to the Moscow region shortly before the attack.

149 people were killed, one remains missing, and 609 were injured.

The perpetrators attempted to flee to Ukraine but were detained. Some accomplices were also arrested while trying to cross the border.

On 16 March 2026, 19 perpetrators have been sentenced to terms ranging from almost 20 years to life imprisonment, with fines imposed.

Investigations continue in relation to other suspects, who have been placed on the international wanted list.

#NoStatuteOfLimitations