A video with Matvienko's statement was published in his Telegram channel by the host of the program Pavel Zarubin.

She noted that Western politicians have repeatedly deceived their Russian colleagues.

"And here are these confessions: both Merkel and Hollande, that they fooled us all these eight years, instead of pushing Ukraine towards peace," Matviyenko said.

In her opinion, Merkel and Hollande could have forced the Ukrainian authorities to sit down at the negotiating table with their own people, but instead used this time to saturate Kiev with weapons and prepare an armed attack on the Crimea and Donbass.

Matviyenko also said that Russia would face catastrophic consequences without a special military operation to protect the Donbass.