The use of NATO weaponry in Thursday's "outrageous terrorist act" in Bryansk region sparks questions about the Western bloc's culpability in the acts of terrorism, the Russian Foreign Ministry has announced.
"Ukrainian officials have repeatedly acknowledged that all their actions are carried out with the approval and support of the United States and other NATO countries. The murders in Bryansk region were committed using NATO weapons. In this regard, a logical question arises about the qualification of these countries as accomplices in such crimes and as sponsors of terrorism," the ministry said in a press statement Friday.
"We have drawn the appropriate conclusions from the events. Russian investigators have launched a probe. This crime will not go unpunished," the statement said.
"By supplying Ukraine with high-tech weapon types, the United States and other NATO countries are turning the country into a personal laboratory and testing ground for their developments," the ministry said, referencing the ongoing NATO-Russia proxy conflict in Ukraine.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Federal Security Service released footage of the aftermath of Thursday's deadly attack in Bryansk, showing victims, vehicles riddled with bullet holes, and weapons, including landmines, bazookas and bullet casings (warning, some viewers may find the footage disturbing).
The ministry also commented on recent media reports on plans for the forcible recruitment of Russian and Belarusian nationals trapped in Ukraine to fight in the Ukrainian army, emphasizing that Moscow is ready to take in "all the victims of the Kiev regime in Russia."
Earlier in the day, Russian lawmaker Alexander Khinshtein said judging by the FSB footage, most of the weapons found in Bryansk region were foreign-made, with most of them apparently hailing from Germany. "What is this if not direct encouragement of terrorist activities?" the lawmaker asked.
West's Plans in Ukraine Will Fail
The Foreign Ministry accused Washington of continuing to implement its "geopolitical plan to destroy Russia" by pumping more and more weapons into Ukraine, determining targets and coordinating strikes. Moscow suggested Kiev's recent decision to impose sanctions on Russia's financial sector lasting 50 years is an indication of how long the Ukrainian regime and its Western patrons hope the current crisis will last.
The ministry accused the "the collective West which has nurtured the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev" for years of now demanding "that Kiev continue offensive operations and the occupation of the territory of the new Russian regions," but assured that "such plans are doomed to failure."
"They don't care that the price of this policy is the lives of thousands of innocent people," Moscow said. "The other day, US deputy secretary of state Victoria Nuland said at a Carnegie Center event that military targets in Russian Crimea are "legitimate targets" for Ukraine. It seems that Washington expects to earn extra political points in a 'Crimean campaign' for the upcoming [presidential] elections," the statement said.
The Foreign Ministry also slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace plan, suggesting that "in fact, it's aimed not at establishing peace, but at putting together an anti-Russian coalition."