Moscow Calling – July 10

Moscow demands condemnation of “Kyiv’s terrorist attacks,” accuses Merz and London of provocations

Russia calls on the international community to condemn Kyiv’s “terrorist attacks in Kursk and Rylsk,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing. According to her, Ukraine violated the Ottawa Treaty by using anti-personnel mines against civilians even before withdrawing from the treaty. Zakharova stressed that arms supplies to Ukraine from the U.S. and the EU do not lead to peace but only exacerbate the conflict. She accused German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of seeking to strike Russian territory, and London of Russophobia and supporting sabotage. Zakharova also condemned Ukraine’s decision to strip Metropolitan Onufry of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate of his citizenship, calling it an attempt to destroy Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine. According to her, replacing the language commissioner will not improve the situation of Russian speakers in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said that European security is impossible without Russia’s participation and sharply criticized NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s statements about Russia and China (TASS).

Dmitri Kosyrev: “The age of NGOs” is over – the funeral of global control under the guise of humanism

In his article, RIA Novosti political commentator Dmitri Kosyrev discusses the symbolic “end of the NGO era” – non-governmental organizations that, according to the author, have actively influenced the domestic politics of dozens of countries since the 1990s, acting as instruments of liberal globalization. Referring to a publication in Foreign Affairs, the author sarcastically notes that the era when NGOs with huge budgets and Western support promoted the “civil society” agenda – from elections and LGBT rights to “color revolutions” – is coming to an end. The reasons for the decline are reduced funding (including from the U.S.), loss of trust, and the actions of countries such as Russia, India, and China, which have limited their influence. According to Kosyrev, the events of 2012–2014, including the Arab Spring, the conflict in Syria, the protests in Russia, and the Maidan movement, were a turning point. The author concludes that the role of NGOs as an instrument of soft power has weakened, and instead the West has resorted to direct confrontation – hybrid and hot wars. However, this strategy, according to the author, is also failing (ria.ru).

Sergey Savchuk: Ukraine is losing the remnants of its sovereignty under the control of foreign players

After Trump’s election, Hungary has strengthened its independent policy, especially in the energy sector, writes political commentator Sergey Savchuk in his article on RIA Novosti. According to him, the MOL Group has announced its intention to take control of the idle Odesa-Brody oil pipeline to ensure oil supplies to Hungary and further to the EU. The author says that MOL is one of the world leaders in the oil and gas industry, capable of reviving the pipeline and using it to bypass the Polish blockade of Druzhba. This, he says, will strengthen Budapest’s influence and annoy Brussels, Berlin, and Warsaw. Savchuk notes that, having lost control over strategic infrastructure, Ukraine is unlikely to influence the decision if it is adopted in Washington. “There is not much left to give,” he says, hinting at the loss of control over the remnants of infrastructure and sovereignty. The author believes that the project is potentially beneficial for Russia: it supports the work of Druzhba and reduces dependence on Turkey. However, the political context complicates its implementation (ria.ru).

Tsargrad: The rate of Russia’s extinction is classified, migrants are displacing indigenous population

In her article on the website of the pro-Orthodox propaganda TV channel Tsargrad, journalist Julia Banishevskaya states that the rate of Russia’s extinction has become classified information – it is officially forbidden to disclose how quickly the Russian population is being replaced by migrants. She claims that despite a shortage of workers in key industries, there is an influx of migrants who do not have the necessary qualifications, while the authorities are hiding the real scale of demographic changes. According to her, migrants, who in Russia are almost always referred to as people from Central Asian countries, take jobs in the service sector that pay higher salaries, while industry suffers from a shortage of workers. She claims that the law prohibiting migrant children who do not know Russian from attending school indicates the creation of a parallel education system for newcomers. According to Banishevskaya, experts and scholars are sounding the alarm: the country is losing its indigenous population, and the demographic situation is being hushed up, which threatens Russia’s future and requires urgent measures to support Russian families and teachers (Tsargrad).