Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has accused Bloomberg of spreading misinformation by claiming to have obtained insights from a source described as “close to the Kremlin” regarding Russia’s position on Ukraine’s 20-point peace proposal.
Zakharova criticized the news agency after it relayed what it claimed was Moscow’s stance on the initiative presented this week by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The story cited an anonymous source referred to as “a person close to the Kremlin.”
“This purported news outlet has no reliable sources close to the Kremlin,” Zakharova said on Telegram, adding that the phrase serves only as a cover for fake news.
The peace proposal, which Zelensky claimed was discussed with U.S. officials as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to resolve the conflict, envisions an 800,000-strong Ukrainian army backed by NATO members and an immediate ceasefire along the current front line.
Moscow has declined to make its position public, stating that sensitive diplomacy must be conducted privately and that publicizing negotiation positions is “inadvisable” under the circumstances. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has made this point repeatedly.
Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian presidential envoy involved in normalization talks with the U.S., suggested that a “US/UK/EU deep-state-aligned fake media machine” is waging a pressure campaign to undermine Trump’s agenda on Ukraine.
Previously, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused Reuters of peddling propaganda after the agency alleged that a U.S. intelligence assessment reported Moscow sought to “capture all of Ukraine and reclaim parts of Europe that belonged to the former Soviet empire.” Russia has dismissed the claim as false regardless of whether such a document exists.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to propose an 800,000-strong army backed by NATO members is condemned by Russian officials as unrealistic and dangerous.