This morning’s news ticker on the Russian internet channel dzen.ru has carried a succession of excerpts from the day’s articles about the interview that Russian ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Denis Gonchar has just given to RIA Novosti. These snippets from RIA Novosti, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rossiiskaya Gazeta appear on dzen.ru for a few moments and then disappear, making it difficult to take down texts, but I have succeeded with the posting coming from Ria Novosti itself:
Quote
Russia has neither the desire nor the reason to attack Belgium or any other NATO country. Westerners stir up this theme in order to justify in the eyes of their population expenditures on militarization, Russian ambassador in Brussels Denis Gonchar has told RIA Novosti in an interview
I emphasize yet again that Russia has neither the desire nor the reason to attack Belgium or any other NATO country. This is all whipped up for the purpose of justifying militarization and degradation of the socio-economic situation,’ said the ambassador.
He indicated that in the last year military budgeting jumped from 9 billion euros almost to 13 billion and came to 2% of GDP. This year the authorities in Belgium have already budgeted military expenses at the level of 3.44% of which 2.01% are direct defense expenses Gonchar explained.
Unquote
I direct attention to the 3 comments that followed
- Popugai Silvera
There is a reason. And a weighty one. – the security of Russia and of its people. No hostile defense blocs on our continent
2. Yevgeni Porshin
Considering even that NATO is fighting with Russia in Ukraine we haven’t the least need for you with your European values. We have only partly gotten rid of your values. Thank heavens. there is a lot of work ahead – a whole generation has been lost.
3. Nikolai Danilov
Our Putin also in an interview with a European journalist said in 2008 that only a madman can speak about Russia attacking Ukraine.
4. (name not recorded)
And the Russian people thinks otherwise. Let’s have a vote.
Roughly the same article appeared in Komsomolskaya Pravda and attracted a great many comments, which had a definite coloration heavily critical of the Kremlin’s conduct of the war. From these I offer a sampling below:
And when precisely will the NATO countries ‘pay dearly’ The bills certainly aren’t reaching them
51
3
That’s really news 🤣🤣🤣 Impunity. They long ago understood everything, that we just engage in empty chatter.
32
4
It is simple logic: if the drones are flying to Russia from Estonia that means Estonia has attacked Russia.
30
Elena Mi
Only men are leaving comments. …Are you ready to fight against NATO? Zelensky is just waiting for that, to draw some NATO country into the war and then Russia will be fighting not only with Ukraine but with all of Europe. Yes, other NATO countries will be drawn in. For the moment we are only fighting against their weapons, but later there will also be…
20
2
Who is naïve? The ambassadors or us? Do the ambassadors think it is we?
21
3
The NATO countries are financing this war and providing weapons. Our response has been delayed, as if we have not finished our red lines. No one takes Russia seriously any more. I am not in favor of a big war, but NATO is openly for it
17
Because they are not afraid of our mumbling
10
Hey, you, in the Kremlin! You could at least break off diplomatic relations with the most odious co-belligerents of Ukraine….You are not even capable of that!
8
Who is listening to our warnings?
8
This got to the ambassador in Belgium only in the fifth year of the SMO. He is a quick-witted fellow..
3
Don’t be shy. Write to us which country when and what was done in relation to this.
2
1
Have they forgotten how to bang on the table with their fist? [reference to Khrushchev at the UN]
Well???????? We express our concern??????? This is banal cowardice
Note at the bottom: the internet algorithms have hidden potentially hostile comments
Indeed, whatever weeding out of comments may have taken place, it is clear that the readers of these news tickers are not stupid, understand very well that what the Kremlin is doing is harmful to Russian national interests. I stand by my earlier observations that it is unclear how long President Putin can resist the people over the conduct of the war if they perceive it to be against the national interest and cowardly. His entire popularity was built almost exclusivity on defending Russia’s national interest.
Also note that in other ticker accounts of Gonchar’s interview we read that he spoke about (unnamed) NATO countries that lend their sea and air space to Ukraine for their terrorist attacks on the civilian infrastructure and population of Russia.
In closing, I remind the Community that Putin’s ‘vertical of power’ is well in place as regards diplomacy. Ambassador Gonchar is only saying what he has been told to say by his boss, Sergei Lavrov, and Lavrov is saying only what his boss Vladimir Putin wants to hear.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026
Gilbert Doctorow 