You're reading: Russian deputy defense minister accuses West of waging information war against Russia

Moscow – The West has been waging information war against Russia for months, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said on the Russian news TV channel Rossiya-24. 

“It is surprising and sad that some people abroad are trying to gamble on this situation [the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner over Ukraine], trying to say already today who is to blame and determine who is to blame. We hear today that this is either the Russian Federation and its armed forces or that this is the militia from southeastern Ukraine,” he said.

It is puzzling that “people who are in power in the West don’t think about consequences of their statements and don’t think about how to find the right solution to the current situation but are trying to aggravate the situation even more,” he said.

“Everything that is being said on the matter today smacks very much of the continuation of information war that has been launched against the Russian Federation for months now,” he said.

“We feel consequences of this war,” he said.

“To be frank, I don’t see any concrete steps on that side that would enable us to neutralize the situation, soften the rhetoric, and start looking for practical ways to overcome the current situation,” Antonov said.

“The Russian Defense Ministry has taken a close look at this situation. We are far from stigmatizing anyone today. We would like to ask clear and unambiguous questions today. Only ten questions for the Ukrainian armed forces. Answers to these questions would enable all of us – not only in Russia but also in Western countries and in the East, that is, in Asia – to try to find an answer to the main question: What has actually happened in the skies over Ukraine and what should we do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?” he said.