'Their role is to bark from Moscow': Ukrainian MFA hits back at Zakharova's insults against Zelenskyy

What Zakharova said

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman's statements came amid President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Ankara. Upon arrival in Türkiye, Zelenskyy called the Russian delegation that Vladimir Putin sent to the talks instead of himself a sham.

Zakharova, commenting on Zelenskyy's statements, called the Ukrainian leader a “clown and a loser,” and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called him “pathetic.”

Ukraine's reaction

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tykhyi emphasized that only insults towards the Ukrainian president are coming from Russia, instead of Putin coming to meet with Zelenskyy to talk about ending the war and restoring peace.

Tykhyi remarked that the Russian Foreign Ministry does not even lead the Kremlin's delegation to Türkiye.

“Not the first time the Russian foreign ministry becomes a laughing stock. It is also worth noting that the delegation in Türkiye is not led by the Russian foreign ministry—their role is to bark from Moscow,” Tykhyi emphasized.

Türkiye talks

Last week, Zelenskyy promised to fly to Türkiye to meet with Putin to discuss a ceasefire. Putin himself proposed to resume direct talks between Ukraine and Russia.

The Ukrainian president emphasized that he would meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on May 15 and then wait for the Russian leader.

However, Putin ignored the meeting with Zelenskyy and instead sent low-level officials to Istanbul. The delegation is headed by Putin's aide, Vladimir Medinsky, who was a participant in the 2022 talks.

Ukraine is represented at the highest level at the talks, with representatives of the President's Office, the Foreign Ministry, the military, and intelligence officials joining the delegation.