Russia's ambassador to Ireland has claimed that Ukraine’s latest offensive, which has seen Russia invaded for the first time since World War II, is little more than a propaganda stunt.
Yury Filatov told RTÉ's Prime Time that it looks to him like the Ukrainian mission across the border into the Kursk region "was [designed] to intimidate civilians [and] force our military to rearrange forces."
He described the operation, which has forced Russia to evacuate 200,000 citizens from the regions of Kursk and Belgorad, as "a classic gang-type raid by dispersed units."
"About 10- to 12,000 of them tried to drive as deep as they could into our territory, wreaking havoc on their way, but avoiding to engage in contact," he said.
When asked about what the apparent ease with which Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia said about the might of the Russian military, he said "it doesn't say anything."
"Yes, there's been a certain element of surprise, as always is in such instances. But it's not, I would say, unpredictable, but highly questionable what they have done," he said.
"What they have done is just to try to seize a little chunk of territory for obviously purposes of gaining some bargaining chips, making propaganda effect, to show that they can do something while they certainly are very much on the defensive. To make an argument that they deserve more arms, more money, et cetera."
In the interview, Ambassador Filatov also addressed comments made in recent months by Taoiseach Simon Harris, and comments about Russian spies operating in Ireland by a senior garda.
In June, Mr Harris described Russia's forced displacement of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia as "morally repugnant."
Ambassador Filatov said "there have been a number of, how do you call it, foster homes in the combat zone. In total, we had to evacuate about 2,000 children who were in these homes, who didn't have any relatives in the first place."
"We had to take care of them just to make sure that they're in a safe place," he added.
"We've been trying to reach out to Ukrainian side to see whether maybe some of these kids have some relatives who wish to repatriate them. And there have been quite a lot of instances when that has been done."
Ambassador Filatov added that comments from Assistant Commissioner Michael McElgunn about the activity of Russian spies in Ireland were designed to "divert the attention from more pressing issues with the law enforcement here in Ireland."
Speaking to RTÉ's This Week, Mr McElgunn said: "We have a duty to investigate and manage the threats from hostile states and that includes espionage in the State. We are committed to monitoring the particular threats. Russia is one of those countries we have an interest in."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Asked about the activities referred to, Ambassador Filatov said "I'm used to this question. I find that it’s insulting to my intelligence to find an answer which is not ... which is polite."
