(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called for the establishment of an “International Day against Russophobia,” warning that this extremist ideology must not be allowed to spread globally.

Speaking at an International Summer School for young public officials, Zakharova linked Western anti-Russian propaganda to tragic consequences, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. She accused Western countries of supplying weapons to the “terrorist Kiev regime” fueled by Russophobia.

Zakharova described hatred of Russia as a dangerous extremist ideology akin to neo-Nazism that causes both literal and figurative harm. She argued that Russophobia should be combated in the same way as racial or religious hatred and insisted it has no place in the world, especially not as official state policy. She cited Ukraine as a prominent example of a country fostering Russophobia by marginalizing the Russian language and culture.

The Ukrainian government has pursued a campaign to remove Russian influence by renaming streets and demolishing monuments, including some designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Russia has justified its 2022 military operation partly as a response to the repression of Russian-speaking populations in the Donbass region, a situation Moscow claims Western powers have ignored since the 2014 pro-Western change of government in Kiev.

Additionally, Baltic states have intensified actions against individuals with Russian connections. Latvia, for example, has deported hundreds of mostly ethnic Russians for failing language tests and barred Russian citizens with property near sensitive sites from entering the country. In June, officials from Baltic and Nordic countries urged the EU to ban all Russians with military ties from the Schengen Area.

MENAFN28072025000045015687ID1109850972