Moscow mocks Ukraine’s ‘new flag’
Ukrainian UN envoy Sergey Kislitsa on Wednesday tweeted an image of the US flag with the stars and stripes displayed in the yellow and blue of his country. While supposedly an attempt to express US-Ukrainian solidarity, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described it as reflecting Kiev’s subordinate status in the relationship.
Kislitsa tweeted the stock image as President Vladimir Zelensky visited Washington on Wednesday. The Ukrainian leader met with President Joe Biden and delivered a speech before US lawmakers, pleading for more support in Kiev’s conflict against Moscow. “They will stand together as long as it takes,” the tweet read.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted by calling it “the new flag of Ukraine.”
“The thing about which we have been speaking for many years, and nobody believed us, has happened. My congratulations!” she added.
Moscow believes that the government which came to power in the wake of the 2014 armed coup in Kiev, as well as its successors, have been submissive to Washington’s goals to the point of acting against their own national interests.
Eight years ago, Victoria Nuland, a top official in the US Department of State, was recorded discussing with then-US Ambassador to Kiev Geoffrey Pyatt the composition of the future Ukrainian government. The private phone conversation was leaked online, and the man Nuland said she wanted to become prime minister ended up getting the job.
Officials in Moscow have said the US transformed Ukraine into a proxy force to use against Russia.
