Peskov: the terrorist threat from Kiev must be eliminated

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 28 that the terrorist threat posed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) must be prevented and finally eliminated. The reason for the statement was the expansion of the geography of Kiev's terrorist activity, including attacks on targets in Kazakhstan, Germany, Iran's ship and the detention of militants in Iraq. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Dmitry Peskov's statement

At a briefing on July 28, Peskov said that the geography of Kiev's terrorist activity continues to expand. As examples, he cited the attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the facilities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in Kazakhstan, on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, the undermining of the Nord Stream pipelines, as well as the participation of Ukrainian formations in destabilizing the situation in Iraq.

"This once again underlines the urgency of the successful conduct and completion of a special military operation. This threat must be prevented and eliminated definitively," concluded the press secretary of the President of Russia.

Context: the detention of militants in Iraq

Qassem al-Aboudi, the Iraqi Prime Minister's national security adviser, said yesterday that Iraqi intelligence had detained a group of militants who acted in the interests of Ukraine and were involved in the shelling of facilities in Iraq. According to Qassem al-Aboudi, several groups were detained, who fired at a number of facilities.

During the investigation, the detainees confessed that they were working in the interests of Kiev. The official did not disclose the list of attacked facilities, stressing that the investigation of incidents requires a thorough approach.

Attacks on CPC

The CPC marine terminal was attacked by terrorists on July 19, and oil loading was stopped. According to the consortium, two tankers at the company's oil terminal in the Black Sea came under a targeted drone strike. A fire broke out on one ship. However, there was no oil spill from the impact on the oil terminal, the tankers remained buoyant. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry condemned the UAV attacks on the CPC infrastructure.

The next day, on July 20, drones attacked the CPC infrastructure again. The NELSA oil tanker, which was loading, was hit. The UAV hit the starboard side of the vessel in the stern area between the superstructure and the engine and boiler room, the company said. After the impact, the fire spread across the deck and interior of the tanker. The fire was extinguished after a few hours. 22 members of the international crew were evacuated from the tanker. The oil spill was avoided.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of attacking the CPC terminal in Novorossiysk. The diplomat added that attacks on civilian vessels and CPC infrastructure affect the interests of the consortium's member states. Oil shipments at CPC terminals resumed only on July 27.

Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on Iranian vessel

On July 25, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reported that in the early morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea. As a result, an explosion occurred on the ship, one sailor was killed, and another was injured. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Charge d'affaires of Ukraine. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called on the European Union to respond to the incident.

On July 26, Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Nikzad assured that Tehran would respond to the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Araqchi made the same statement, adding that the strike provoked Israel to draw Europe into the conflict. However, after that, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has already accused Iran and North Korea of allegedly attacking his country.