Briefing by Maria Zakharova, Moscow, 20 August 2026

Визит архиепископа Галлахера продолжит двусторонний и международный диалог.

Zakharova announces Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher’s 24–28 August visit and his talks with Lavrov. Moscow expects discussion of Russia–Vatican relations, multilateral coordination and international questions of shared concern.

На 25 августа запланированы его переговоры с министром иностранных дел нашей страны Сергеем Лавровым.

His talks with our country’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are scheduled for 25 August.

В 152 странах создано 319 участков; граждан призывают не поддаваться на провокации.

Preparations for the State Duma election have entered their final month. Russia has established 319 polling stations in 152 states and urges citizens abroad to remain vigilant against extremist provocations intended to discredit the election and the country’s leadership.

В 152 государствах создано 319 избирательных участков.

Three hundred and nineteen polling stations have been established in 152 states.

Мы призываем всех российских граждан, в том числе находящихся за рубежом, проявлять бдительность.

We call on all Russian citizens, including those abroad, to remain vigilant.

ТЦК представлены как система насилия и денежных поборов.

Zakharova portrays Ukraine’s territorial recruitment centres as coercive and corrupt institutions that abuse detainees while allowing wealthier conscripts to buy their way out. She cites reported payments of $10,000–15,000 to avoid the front and $50,000–150,000 for leadership posts, presenting this as the social result of Western financing and Kyiv’s political order.

Цена — от 10 до 15 тысяч долларов с человека.

The price is from ten to fifteen thousand dollars per person.

Чтобы попасть на должность руководителей ТЦК, желающие платят по вертикали от 50 до 150 тысяч долларов.

To obtain leadership posts in the recruitment centres, candidates pay from fifty to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars up the chain.

Обогащение руководства связывается с западным финансированием, а чествование ОУН — с реабилитацией коллаборационизма.

The briefing links alleged enrichment by the Kyiv leadership to luxury property and investment in Western Europe. Zakharova then condemns official honours for OUN founder Yevhen Konovalets, treating the reburial as further evidence that the present Ukrainian state elevates Nazi collaborators while erasing the memory of Red Army soldiers who defended Ukraine.

Нынешний киевский политический истеблишмент стал крупнейшим инвестором в люксовую индустрию Запада.

Today’s Kyiv political establishment has become a major investor in the West’s luxury industry.

Киевский режим продолжает чествовать гитлеровских коллаборантов.

The Kyiv regime continues to honour Hitler’s collaborators.

Мандат организации применяется избирательно и обходит неудобные Западу факты.

Zakharova criticizes the UNESCO Director-General’s Ukraine visit for overlooking attacks on journalists, education, cultural monuments, language rights and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The case supports Moscow’s wider charge that international officials selectively apply their mandates in line with the Western mainstream.

Мы неоднократно обращали внимание на двойные стандарты в работе международных чиновников.

We have repeatedly drawn attention to double standards in the work of international officials.

Поездка гендиректора ЮНЕСКО на Украину с посещением Киево-Печерской лавры — яркий тому пример.

The UNESCO Director-General’s trip to Ukraine, including a visit to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, is a vivid example.

Демографические, долговые и социальные показатели названы результатом курса режима Санду.

Moldova is presented as a warning about imposed European integration. Zakharova cites a population decline of nearly 250,000, external debt rising from $3.6 billion to $12 billion, a $7.1 billion trade deficit, tripled gas prices and poverty above 30 percent. She attributes these outcomes to the Sandu government’s Western course rather than to Russian measures.

Численность населения Молдавии за этот период сократилась почти на 250 тысяч человек.

Moldova’s population fell by almost 250,000 people during this period.

Общий внешний долг республики увеличился с 3,6 до 12 миллиардов долларов.

The republic’s total external debt increased from $3.6 billion to $12 billion.

Кризис организации требует возвращения к Уставу и подлинной реформы.

Zakharova rejects campaign rhetoric that the UN is slowly dying, but acknowledges bureaucracy, double standards, financial problems and exclusion from major settlement processes. Moscow’s answer is not abandonment but restoration of the Charter and reform that prevents individual states or blocs from subordinating the organization.

Организация переживает не лучшие времена — это факт.

The organization is going through difficult times—that is a fact.

Она оказалась на периферии урегулирования многих международных проблем.

It has found itself on the periphery of resolving many international problems.

Флаг воплощает государственную юрисдикцию и непрерывность российской истории.

Ahead of Russian Flag Day, Zakharova traces the white-blue-red flag from seventeenth-century shipbuilding through Peter the Great and the 1896 state decision to its modern constitutional definition. The flag is presented as a symbol joining imperial, Soviet and contemporary chapters of a continuous Russian history.

Какого государства корабль, такое знамя на нём живёт.

A ship bears the flag of the state to which it belongs.

Флаг определяет юрисдикцию.

The flag determines jurisdiction.

Радиационный фон остаётся в норме; отмечено мужество российских атомщиков.

The radiation background at the Zaporizhzhia plant remains normal despite attacks on the facility, and Zakharova praises Russian nuclear workers for their courage. In Q&A, she warns that Russian society rejects allied or partner governments flirting with the Ukrainian authorities while Russian civilians remain targets of terrorist attacks.

Радиационный фон на Запорожской атомной электростанции находится в пределах нормы.

The radiation level at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains within normal limits.

Наше общество категорически не приемлет заигрывание с неонацистским режимом на Украине.

Our society categorically rejects flirting with the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine.

Межрегиональный форум переводит политическое партнёрство в конкретные проекты.

The Russia–China interregional forum in Tatarstan is described as a mechanism for turning political dialogue into concrete projects. Its agenda spans health, agriculture, transport, the creative economy, energy and education, with success measured by real economic results and trained specialists.

Он уже превратился в ключевую региональную платформу для перевода политического диалога между двумя странами в реальные экономические проекты.

It has become a key regional platform for turning political dialogue between the two countries into real economic projects.

Широкое представительство партнёров должно укрепить доверие к выборам.

Russia invited twelve international organizations and more than one hundred countries to observe the September elections. Confirmations include partners from the CIS, SCO, BRICS, ASEAN, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America; the CIS mission alone is expected to include more than one hundred experts.

Приглашение направлено в 12 международных организаций и более чем 100 стран.

Invitations were sent to twelve international organizations and more than one hundred countries.

Миссия Содружества — в составе более чем 100 экспертов.

The Commonwealth mission will include more than one hundred experts.

Военная помощь Киеву лишает Хельсинки оснований ссылаться на права нейтральной стороны.

Zakharova argues that Finland’s military support for Kyiv contradicts the rights and duties of a neutral power. Finnish weapons entering Ukraine become lawful targets for Russian forces, and hostile actions by Helsinki will receive a measured response consistent with Russia’s national interests and the goals of the special military operation.

Финское вооружение, пересекая украинскую границу, автоматически становится законной целью для Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации.

Finnish weaponry, upon crossing the Ukrainian border, automatically becomes a lawful target for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Ни один враждебный выпад Хельсинки не останется без ответа.

No hostile move by Helsinki will go unanswered.