A video of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reportedly being asked to stay mum on reports of Russia firing a ballistic missile at a live briefing has surfaced on social media, with some users suspecting “theatre” behind the clip.
The now-viral video of the briefing that picked up the telephone conversation shows Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman getting a call during a live briefing and being told not to comment on reports that Russia had fired a ballistic missile at Ukraine.
The live briefing was taking place after Russia fired a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday in response to the US and UK’s allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war.
‘No comments at all’
Answering reporters’ questions at a weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was seen getting a phone call by a man who referred to her as “Mash” instead of Maria, according to the audio picked up by the microphone. The man reportedly told her not to comment on ballistic missiles.
Also Read: ‘WWIII has officially begun’: Ukraine’s ex-commander makes chilling claims
“Yes, hello,” Zakharova said, according to the recording of the briefing cited in the Reuters report.
“Mash,” said the man, who was not identified. “Yes, I am at a briefing,” Zakharova responded.
“About the ballistic missile strike on Yuzhmash [rocket company Pivdenmash] that the Western media are talking about, we are not commenting at all,” the man said.
While Ukraine had earlier said Russia had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon designed for long-distance nuclear strikes and never before used in war, US officials and NATO echoed Putin’s description of the weapon as an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which has a shorter range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,860-3,415 miles), according to news agency Reuters.
Russian Telegram channels said Russia had struck what is known in Ukraine as the missile and space rocket company Pivdenmash, headquartered in Dnipro.
‘Russian theatre’, suspect social media users
When asked about this conversation by Russian state news agencies, Maria Zakharova said that while preparing for the briefing she had sought experts’ clarification on certain topics, as is standard practice.
“The answer came during the briefing – the foreign ministry does not comment. So there is no intrigue,” RIA state news agency quoted Zakharova as saying.
The video of Maria Zakharova sparked reactions, with a group of people supporting Ukraine, some supporting Russia and some suspecting the phone call to be pre-planned.
“You can tell she even moves the phone closer to the microphone,” one user commented on the video.
“She is intentionally holding the phone close to the mic,” another user wrote.
Tensions have escalated lately between Ukraine and Russia, with the former firing US and British missiles at targets inside Russian territory this week despite Moscow’s warnings such action would be seen as major escalation.
Taking to microblogging platform X, Ukraine President Zelenskyy said after Putin’s television appearance that Russia’s acknowledgement it used the new weapon was another escalation after deployment of North Korean troops on Russian soil.
Thursday’s attack, Zelenskiy said, was “yet more proof that Russia has no interest in peace.
