Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answer to a media question during his remarks at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Antalya, March 1, 2024

Question (translated from English): The media published a conversation between German officers about how they plan to blow up the Crimean Bridge. What can you say about this?

Sergey Lavrov: I read today what was posted on social media and announced by Ms Simonyan with reference to the relevant sources. On the one hand, this is stunning. On the other, less so.

I have said that we know for sure about NATO military participation in the guise of mercenaries or people that are not part of the armed forces of the alliance.

There are some interesting details in this conversation. These German generals discussed ways to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons (they mentioned the TAURUS) for attacking the Crimean Bridge and ammunition depots in a more subtle way. How to make sure they are not noticed because German Chancellor Olaf Scholz supposedly does not like it, while the Americans and Brits are already there. They also discussed whether it is possible to target missiles remotely without being in Ukraine. One of the generals said this would still be qualified as direct participation. They know what they are talking about. In one exchange, one general mentions that “men from the US in civilian clothes” are there.

I don’t know how to say it but all of our NATO colleagues are guilty as hell. We’ll have to see how they explain this to their own public.