Zimbabwe National Assembly Speaker: Russian Special Military Op in Ukraine Is 'Preemptive Step'

The chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zimbabwe said in his speech to Russian deputies on Tuesday that Zimbabwe is aware and understands perfectly why Russia decided on its special military operation in Ukraine.

Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Zimbabwe Jacob Mudenda pointed out that the Russian special military operation in Ukraine is a "preemptive step" aimed at "defending [the] Russian Federation from inevitable adversary represented by NATO" while giving a speech at the plenary session of the Russian State Duma on September 27.

"The military operation is a preemptive step that aims to protect the Russian Federation from the inevitable adversary represented by NATO, which is now also reinforced by American hegemonic aspirations for an undesirable unipolar world, which certainly cannot be trusted to maintain global peace and security," Mudenda said.

The chairman highlighted the West’s “undisguised attempts” to include Ukraine in NATO that led to Russian concerns over its own security.

"The Russian Federation has all reasons to feel the threat from the presence of NATO's nuclear arsenal at arm's length from its borders,” he noted, pointing to the fact that Russia's special military operation should be seen in the context of the West's actions.

The politician also indicated that the ongoing food crisis “hits the poorest the hardest” and people in the neediest counties end up being forced “to buy products of lower quality”.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, responding to calls for help from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics who "have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years", as Russia's President Vladimir Putin put it.

In return to Russia's operation in Ukraine, western countries rolled out multiple sanctions leading to a global energy and food crisis, backfiring on western countries.