UK turns Russophobia argument on Moscow, claims greatest threat to Russian society is war in Ukraine

The U.K. on Tuesday looked to turn Moscow’s claim of "Russophobia" on its head when it accused the Kremlin of being the greatest threat to Russian culture and society due to its continued war in Ukraine. 

In a U.N. Security Council meeting called by Russia to address what it claims is "Russophobia" coming from Western nations that oppose its war in Ukraine, U.K. Minister Counselor Fergus Eckersley, said, "We do not suffer from Russophobia." 

The U.N. Security Council holds a meeting on the Middle East in November 2019 at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

"Russophobia is one of the ever-growing list of excuses the Russian government has come up with to justify its war in Ukraine," he said, giving part of his address in Russian to ensure Russians listening could fully understand him. 

"The Russian government may believe that this propaganda will help to justify at home the lives of the tens of thousands of Russian soldiers who have been sacrificed.

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"Colleagues, Russia is not under attack. There is only one aggressor here."

Members of the council have repeatedly called on Moscow to withdraw its forces from all of Ukraine, including the regions its has claimed to have annexed.

In a separate show of opposition to Russia’s claims of oppression by Western nations, the U.K. invited Yale University Professor of History Timothy Snyder to brief the council. 

A pedestrian walks past the "Children of Donbass" open-air photo exhibition outside the Estonian Consulate in Moscow Jan. 23, 2023. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)

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"Harm to Russian culture is primarily a matter of Russian policy," Snyder said. "The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has killed more speakers of Russian than any other action by far.

"There's no comparison," he added. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to the mass killing of Russian citizens. Some 200,000 are dead or maimed."

Russian officials have repeatedly claimed that Western nations are aiding Ukraine out of condemnation for Russia and its people, rather than as a response to its invasion of its southwest neighbor over a year ago. 

Vassily Nebenzia, a permanent representative of the Russian Federation of the United Nations, addresses the United Nations Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine at U.N. headquarters in New York City Feb. 24, 2023.  (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

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Moscow’s U.N. representative, Vassily Nebenzia, once again pushed this narrative Tuesday in response to comments from the U.K. and it's guest speaker. 

Nebenzia also repeated the false claims that Kyiv is headed by "Nazis" and suggested that Russia was not looking to reunite Ukraine with Russia despite having already annexed five of its regions, but rather to oust its leadership.