Russian Embassy to the UK

🎙 Highlights from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks and answers to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (Tehran, 19 October 2026) • Energy prices We did not initiate the process of destabilising the global energy market. It was started by the Europeans and the Joe Biden administration when they decided to phase out Russian energy supplies. The EU continues to maintain to this day that it will pursue this policy. • Ukraine We are primarily fighting for the rights of our people in all spheres, including religion and language. We are fighting for the rights of Russians and people of Russian culture, including those who remain in territories controlled by Zelensky. • Iran We analysed the aftermath of the unprovoked aggression by the US and Israel against Iran. I reiterated our country’s readiness to help find negotiated solutions that are mutually acceptable in order to resolve this artificially created crisis. It is important to restore the situation in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to how it was before the crisis, including by restoring freedom of navigation and ensuring guarantees that such aggression will not happen again. • Palestine With regard to a Middle East settlement, the key priority is to step up efforts on the Palestinian issue, which is currently at the bottom of the international agenda and is being stripped of all substance, with UN resolutions on the establishment of a Palestinian state being hollowed out. Read in full

🤦 Kaja Kallas’s interview with The Times exposes the EU’s neocolonial mindset: rather than promote Arctic cooperation, Brussels, driven by impotent rage, seeks to contain other nations and deny them opportunities to develop.

⚡️ Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova shared thoughts on recent events in Europe 👆

💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: The "diesel deal" is a matter for Moscow and Washington. If the European Union considers it as a betrayal of Ukraine, and Zelensky himself claims that the issue of Russian diesel exports must be settled with him because he is the only one who can authorise them, then this has nothing to do with energy security. This is about self-promotion and yet another farce [...] On numerous occasions, even when an understanding had been reached between Moscow and Kiev on the need to move forward, including in several instances following proposals by US President Donald Trump, and when there was some understanding about resuming negotiations, Ukraine has invariably done something entirely unacceptable and disgraceful the very next day, just as such optimistic expectations began to emerge [...] It is obvious that Zelensky has no desire even to move towards reaching an agreement. Apparently, he understands that any agreement acceptable to both Russia and the United States would spell the end of his regime. Excerpt from FM Lavrov’s answers to media questions following the 9th Russia-Gulf Cooperation Council Joint Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue (Manama, 18 October 2026)

🇷🇺🇻🇦📞 On October 16, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Pope Leo XIV had a telephone conversation. After wishing the supreme pontiff sound health and a speedy recovery after the surgery he had undergone recently, Vladimir Putin emphasised the importance of the cooperation between Russia and the Vatican in promoting common moral values and protecting Christians and Christian shrines across the world. Both Sides reaffirmed their interest in maintaining dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. During an exchange of views on the situation surrounding Ukraine, Vladimir Putin thanked the Pope for his willingness to contribute to resolving the conflict and his humanitarian efforts. In response to the Pontiff’s concern for civilians in the Russian city of Alyoshki, Kherson Region, comprehensive explanations were provided regarding the Kiev regime’s responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation there. Support was expressed for the Vatican’s intention to help create conditions to ensure the safety of the city’s population and arrange deliveries of vital supplies. It was agreed to cooperate on this matter. Support was expressed for the Vatican's intention to facilitate creating the necessary conditions to keep the town's population safe and beginning vital supplies. The two Sides agreed to cooperate in this regard. The conversation was constructive and mutually respectful.

💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: As for the diesel deal, it was brought to the table, and we supported it. But Vladimir Zelensky has said publicly on several occasions, “Stop bothering me about this diesel deal. Give me Patriot system missiles instead for I need to keep striking Russia’s energy sector, including its oil refineries.” This is a direct and, moreover, crudely worded challenge to US President Donald Trump, who has actively supported this deal and spoken publicly about it on several occasions. I think everyone understands this by now. They are also fully aware that such behaviour has become typical of Zelensky, who believes that the whole world owes him, while he owes nothing to anyone. He is unwilling to take any constructive steps that would be genuinely fair and based on equality [...] Mr Zelensky has already made it quite clear that he is not interested in holding elections and surrounded the whole idea with conditions that are patently unacceptable. There will be no ceasefire that would make it possible for him to regain his senses and be once again supplied with more weapons. Excerpt from FM Lavrov’s answers to media questions following the 7th CICA Summit (Baku, 15 October 2026)

🎬 “Foreign Mercenaries. Betrayed by the Kiev Regime” – a documentary by Rossiya 24 and RT investigating the crimes of foreign “legionnaires” fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces. Thousands of foreign mercenaries sign contracts with Ukraine’s armed forces, intent on making money off death. They are recruited via Ukrainian embassies and intermediaries operating around the world. Lured by promises of easy money, the fighters themselves describe their tours as a “safari”, or a “hunt for Russians”. ☝️ But behind this “bloody tourism” lie torture, robbery and the killing of civilians. Who are these “soldiers of misfortune”? Why do they travel thousands of kilometres to fight in someone else’s war? And what happens when the reality of combat shatters their expectations? 👉 The film brings together eyewitness testimony, evidence gathered by Russian investigators and accounts from the mercenaries themselves. Residents of the Kursk Region recount atrocities committed during the Ukrainian incursion, including by foreign fighters. Investigators continue their painstaking work to identify those responsible & bring them to justice. *** 💬 Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova: The filmmakers have compiled accounts of crimes committed by foreign nationals fighting for the Ukrainian armed forces. Eyewitness accounts are supported by irrefutable evidence gathered by investigators and forensic specialists – the very evidence we have been talking about all these years. The mercenaries themselves describe how they came to realise they had made the biggest mistake of their lives. Those who survived after the Kiev regime dragged them into Zelensky’s “favourite” meat grinder. (Maria Zakharova's weekly briefing, October 8, 2026) #KievRegimeCrimes

💬 Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE Dmitry Polyanskiy: One cannot but notice that the moment Russia and the United States show signs of forging a respectful and mutually beneficial dialogue, the moment the inviolability and infallibility of the Kiev regime's ringleader is called into question, European states invariably panic and take action to derail this process. For example, on 10 October, the British government issued a statement "UK government response to agreement between US and Russia", which explicitly states that London will not abandon its comprehensive support for the Kiev regime and will pursue its anti-Russian policy. We would like to remind you that it was British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who sabotaged the near-final Istanbul agreements in April 2022 by arriving in Kiev with promises of weapons supplies and the encouragement to carry on fighting. At the time, this manoeuvre cost Ukraine hundreds of thousands of lives along with destructions and devastation, which could have easily been avoided. The tone of the recent statement suggests that London is once again poised to play the familiar role of a warmonger disguised as a champion of a just peace. The architects of British policy show little concern over the rising death toll among Ukrainians as Britain continues to treat this country as an obedient geopolitical tool in keeping with colonial traditions. Read in full

☝️ The UK's vote against the draft resolution on addressing contemporary forms of colonialism, backed by the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly, speaks volumes. After centuries of slavery and colonial exploitation, London refuses to acknowledge that such practices persist in new forms, including economic and political coercion. Colonialism left deep socio-economic inequalities that continue to affect entire nations and continents. Yet the UK government rules out both reparations and an official apology, exposing its reluctance to confront the consequences of Britain's colonial past.

✍️ On 15 October 1814, the great Russian poet and writer Mikhail Lermontov was born. Although his life was tragically short, Lermontov left a monumental literary legacy. His works continue to captivate readers all over the world. His celebrated novel «A Hero of Our Time» has been translated into English numerous times since the mid-19th century and can be easily found in bookstores and libraries across Scotland. In 2015, a bronze bust of the writer sculpted by Stepan Mokrousov was unveiled in Earlston. The Scottish town was once home to the 13th century fabled bard Thomas the Rhymer. He belonged to the ancient Clan of Learmonth and is believed to have been a distant ancestor of the Russian classic. Senior Consul of the Consulate General of Russia in Edinburgh Mariia Zots and its staff paid tribute to Mikhail Lermontov by laying flowers at his monument in Earlston.

🎙 Remarks by Russian MFA Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik at an informal Arria-formula meeting of UN Security Council members on “Addressing blind spots in violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the context of the Ukrainian crisis: a focus on the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces” (New York, October 14, 2026) Read in full Broadcast of the entire meeting 💬 In the Kiev-controlled frontline areas, an entire network of “secret prisons” has been established, euphemistically referred to as “transit camps” in reports by international human rights organisations. Human rights defenders know about them but have no access to them. As a rule, these facilities are concealed within guarded compounds of Ukrainian formations, which neither foreign inspectors nor human rights defenders are officially permitted to enter. ⚠️ There, sadists, militants and security personnel concealed behind masks and balaclavas operate with impunity on behalf of Ukrainian agencies such as the Main intelligence directorate (GUR), the Security service of Ukraine (SBU) and other investigative bodies. Each is tasked with using any means necessary to “extract” the desired testimony from a captive or force them to cooperate under threat of death. *** The total number of civilians killed or injured at the hands of Ukrainian militants since February 2022 has now exceeded 36,000. This figure rises by 300-400 every week. As of the beginning of last week, the number of civilians killed by Kiev’s formations stood at 9,089. There has also been a catastrophic increase in deliberate attacks by Ukrainian militants on children. ❗️ Since the beginning of this year alone, 484 children have suffered injuries or been maimed. 72 of them have died. In August alone, 101 children were killed or injured. *** Kiev has resorted to crimes previously considered beyond the pale even by the most hardened monsters. The allocation of vast sums specifically for Ukraine to purchase drones of various types has unleashed a war on transport targeting the civilian population. Alongside crimes already routinely committed by Kiev’s militants, such as attacks on private vehicles, there are now systematic strikes on high-capacity passenger buses. *** For at least three years, Kiev’s armed formations have been striking the long-suffering city of Alyoshki every hour. For three years, shelling has left the city without electricity or a centralised water supply, and with virtually no communications. Almost every attempt to restore communications infrastructure is soon followed by a devastating strike from the Ukrainian side. Despite their professed concern for the people of Alyoshki, Ukrainian militants have mined every access road to the city. 👉 Drones constantly patrol the two main roads, striking any vehicle attempting to reach the city – from private cars to ambulances. #KievRegimeCrimes

✒️ On this day in 1814, Mikhail Lermontov was born. One of Russia’s most celebrated poets and novelists, he is best known for A Hero of Our Time, a landmark of Russian prose, as well as his Romantic poetry, including The Demon and Mtsyri. But did you know that Lermontov had Scottish roots? His paternal family traced its ancestry to George Learmonth, a Scottish soldier who entered Russian service in the early 17th century. The family’s Scottish origins are associated with Fife. Lermontov’s fascination with his Scottish heritage found expression in two poems, The Grave of Ossian and The Wish, both written in 1830. In my beloved Scottish highlands, Under a curtain of cold mists, Between the sky of storms and dry sands, The grave of Ossian exists. My dreaming heart flies to its stone To breathe in native air puffs And take from it the priceless loan — The treasure of the second life. In 2015, a bronze bust of the poet was unveiled in the town of Earlston in southeast Scotland, which used to be home of the legendary Scottish bard Thomas the Rhymer, who also belonged to the ancient Clan of Learmonth.

#WeRemember 📅 #OTD in 1943, an uprising broke out at #Sobibor — the only successful mass escape by POWs from Nazi “death factories” during #WW2. The Sobibor uprising was helmed by Alexander Pechersky, a Soviet POW, lieutenant of the Red Army, held among others in Sobibor. The Soviet officer performed a truly heroic feat — just in a few weeks, he managed to devise an escape plan, rally other prisoners and inspired them to fight the Nazis. ◼️ During #WWII, Germany established around 14'000 'death camps'. Among them, the so-called death factories became infamous as places where the Nazis herded their victims for the one purpose — annihilation. Sobibor was among such “death factory”, established in the south-east of Nazi-occupied Poland, near the Western Bug River and the Polish-Soviet border. The camp was built alongside the railway line between the towns of Chełm and Włodawa. POWs were transported to Sobibor in entire railway carriages, for one sole purpose — to be killed. The camp was turned into a veritable 'assembly line' for the mass murder of human beings. Each and every day, up to six trains carrying POWs arrived at Sobibor, including prisoners of war and civilians — elderly people, women and children. At Sobibor, the Nazis starved their victims and exploited them to death. Inhuman medical experiments were conducted on POWs. People from Austria, Czechoslovakia, France and other countries were brought to the camp to be tortured. In June 1943, two special trains carrying children arrived at Sobibor from the Netherlands. In September 1943, a group of Soviet POWs arrived from the Minsk transit camp. According to various estimates, the Nazis exterminated up to 250'000 POWs at Sobibor during the camp’s existence. 🎖 From the all-Union newspaper 'Krasnaya Armiya' (The Red Army) (September 2, 1944): The Nazis turned Poland into one vast prison, where millions of people from every country in Europe perished after indescribable suffering. <...> The Sobibor camp was one of the death factories established by the Germans on Polish territory. Residents of the Polish village of Zhlobok-2 <...> wrote in a letter to the Red Army command that the inhabitants of villages neighbouring Sobibor knew well of the conditions in this horrific concentration camp. Every day, more than 1'000 people of various nationalities were exterminated in the camp’s gas chambers. <...> The Germans referred to this camp as a “button factory” and a “thread factory”... *** ⚔️ On 14 October 1943, an uprising broke out at Sobibor under the leadership of lieutenant Alexander Pechersky. The POWs, who dared to challenge the enemy, engaged in an unequal battle. Overpowering 'SS' guards with their bare hands, prisoners rushed towards the main gate despite machine-gun fire from the watchtowers. ❗️Nothing could stop exhausted people determined to break free from Nazi enslavement. As a result of the uprising, around 300 people managed to escape from the sheer hell on earth. Many of those who survived and made it to freedom joined the resistance movement and continued fighting the Nazis. Pechersky himself joined the Belarusian partisans and, in 1944, returned to the front, fighting the enemy as part of an assault battalion. The #SobiborUprising became a testament to the unbending human will and strength of spirit — a symbol of the triumph of good over Nazi evil. The crimes committed at Sobibor formed part of the charges brought against the Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials. In March 1962, eleven guards who had served at Sobibor and Treblinka stood trial in Kiev. Alexander Pechersky himself testified as a witness. All the Nazi criminals were sentenced to death. Today, the Alexander Pechersky Foundation, together with the Russian Military Historical Society, museums and other organisations, is doing everything possible to ensure that the memory of the heroic feat of the Sobibor prisoners is carefully preserved and passed on to future generations. #LestWeForget #Victory81

💬 Russian MFA Spox Maria Zakharova: As long as only Russian-flagged vessels and foreign vessels acting in the interests of Russian economic operators were targeted in the Black Sea, the issue of freedom of navigation received little attention from either the West or the relevant international organisations. They were fine with the damage being inflicted primarily on our country [...] The proposals now being put forward to normalise navigation in the Black Sea overlook the key point: the current food security challenges are a direct consequence of Kiev’s actions, while its sense of impunity and lack of accountability are the result of the West’s irresponsible policies. The root causes of the problems that have emerged on global food markets are being hypocritically ignored, above all the logistical barriers imposed by the EU and the so-called sanctions targeting Russian economic operators and entities in the agricultural sector. Read in full

❗️ The Russian Embassy rejects the latest allegations made by MI5 Director General Ken McCallum in his annual threat update delivered at Thames House. Attributing every cyber incident, drone mishap and criminal case in Europe to Moscow is convenient, particularly when no evidence is offered. The persistent promotion of a supposed Russian threat serves to justify expanded security powers and greater militarisation, as well as to deflect public attention from domestic problems. However, repeating baseless accusations does not turn them into facts.

🎙 Highlights from Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's interview with Interfax news agency (13 October 2026) • All scenarios and procedures for the use of nuclear weapons are clearly set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine. The more openly the aim of inflicting a strategic defeat on an adversary is declared, the greater the chance that the conflict will move into its most severe phase. As we know, Western countries openly speak of the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. • We see no attempts by Western countries to reach an agreement with us. In fact, there is no dialogue with them at all. Our warning [regarding Kaliningrad] is therefore a pre-emptive signal intended to bring NATO to its senses and prevent it from crossing the point of no return. • Our 2021 proposals [on security guarantees] remain on the table. It is Western countries that need to reconsider their approach, demonstrate a willingness to take each other's interests into account and engage with us on an equal footing.

💬 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: Over the past several months, the call for a "ceasefire" has replaced the slogan of "inflicting strategic defeat on Russia" in the rhetoric of both Zelensky and his Western masters. The objective is one and very simple: to buy time and gain a respite. Zelensky has even said that he is prepared to hold presidential elections if he is given two months to regroup. During that period, Europe would be able to supply him with more weapons to continue his terrorist war against the Russian people. He is eager to exploit any words, initiatives or ideas that enter the public domain to advance his interest in gaining a respite by any means possible. I do not think he deserves such a respite. Nor do I believe that we will, yet again, be taken in by assurances and promises. We continue to achieve the goals of the special military operation. Excerpt from FM Lavrov's remarks and answers to media questions following the talks with Foreign Minister of Lebanon Youssef Raji (Moscow, 12 October 2026)

⚡️ Russia's High Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova: The Ukrainian blockade of Alyoshki must be lifted to save civilian lives. People remain cut off from supplies of food, water and medicine. They include the elderly, women and children. We are in contact with the US Side and Melania Trump’s team, which has expressed its willingness to help the city, about this dire situation. Difficult negotiations are now underway to arrange the delivery of humanitarian supplies and the evacuation of people in urgent need of assistance. ❗️ The main cause of the humanitarian crisis is the blockade deliberately imposed by the Ukrainian armed forces. Ukrainian drones constantly patrolling the roads and remotely laid mines on roads and footpaths prevent aid from getting through. All supplies reaching Alyoshki today are carried by hand or brought in on bicycles by people risking their lives. According to available information, the most recent volunteer convoy, travelling in vehicles marked “People”, was destroyed by Ukrainian strikes. If the Ukrainian side stopped attacking and mining the routes used to supply the city’s residents, essential aid could be delivered and those in urgent need could be evacuated. ☝️ We will help all residents, regardless of their political views. People are our highest priority, and the value of every human life is unconditional. Russia will do everything possible to save civilian lives.

🗓 10 октября в Лондоне состоялась страновая конференция российских соотечественников, проживающих в Соединённом Королевстве. Временный поверенный в делах России в Великобритании Василий Цыганов обратился к участникам со вступительным словом, зачитал приветствие директора Департамента по работе с соотечественниками за рубежом МИД России Геннадия Овечко. В ходе конференции была отмечена значимость культурно-гуманитарных и молодёжных проектов наших граждан, продвижения русского языка и поддержки русскоязычных учебных заведений, а также военно-мемориальной работы. Прибывшие из различных регионов страны делегаты обсудили вопросы взаимодействия организаций соотечественников и консолидации российской общины, наметили приоритеты дальнейшей совместной деятельности.

❗️ The latest batch of illegal anti-Russian restrictions targeting banks, individuals and merchant vessels only confirms that London has reached a dead end with its sanctions policy. Each new list is intended to demonstrate the UK authorities’ resolve, but in reality it highlights that the course they have chosen is ineffective and pointless. London is seeking to cut other countries, particularly those in the Global South, off from Russian resources. This attempt to dictate terms exposes the self-serving and neo-colonial attitude of the British establishment towards the developing world. Russia will not change its course: protecting national interests and ensuring sustainable development remain its unconditional priorities. Attempts to speak to us in the language of sanctions and threats are doomed to fail.