Zakharova: Zelensky implemented “delirium of cosmic proportions” by banning Russian writers

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a briefing of bringing to life what he himself once called absurdity — a ban on books by Russian writers, including Mikhail Bulgakov.

Zakharova recalled that in 2021, Zelensky, commenting on a possible ban of Bulgakov in Ukraine, quoted a character from “Heart of a Dog”:

“The news about banning Bulgakov in Ukraine is, as Professor Preobrazhensky would say, delirium of cosmic proportions.”

According to Zakharova, that very “delirium” was subsequently implemented by Zelensky himself. The diplomat stated that the Ukrainian authorities are not only not concealing this, but apparently take pride in what has happened.

“Today we see that the delirium of cosmic proportions has been implemented by none other than Zelensky in Ukraine, by the hands of his accomplices. And most importantly — they are not even ashamed of it. It gives the impression that they are proud of having deceived everyone once again. Again, there is one small nuance: they deceived their own people,” Zakharova said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman specified that Bulgakov has been removed from the school curriculum in Ukraine and his monuments have been demolished. Zakharova also cited figures she described as official Ukrainian statistics: according to her, more than 11 million books in the Russian language have been destroyed in Ukraine in recent years.

“They keep pretending that everything is fine, that they are not barbarians, that they are not Nazis of any kind,” the diplomat concluded.