BERLIN, August 13. /TASS/. Remarks by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) correspondent Michael Martens about killing Russians are abhorrent and are unbecoming of a professional journalist, the Russian Embassy in Germany said in a statement.

"The misanthropic rhetoric of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) Balkans correspondent Michael Martens, who effectively offered to help the head of the Kiev regime Vladimir Zelensky during a press conference in Belgrade on August 8, 2026, in killing Russians, as well as his subsequent social media statements that rule out any possible misunderstanding, are abhorrent and completely discredit Martens as a professional journalist," the embassy said.

According to the statement, it is also highly disheartening that German authorities, professional associations, including the German Journalists' Union, and the overwhelming majority of Martens’ colleagues have not condemned him for what he said. "FAZ’s brief comment, unfortunately, does not fundamentally change the situation. The newspaper's attempt to cite the 'ambiguity' of Martens’ wording does not stand up to criticism. He repeatedly confirmed afterward that he meant exactly what he said and saw nothing objectionable about it," the embassy recalled.

"Freedom of speech hardly implies public calls, even in the form of a question, to kill people, especially citizens of a country with which Germany is not officially at war," the embassy concluded.

At a press conference by Zelensky and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on August 8, Martens asked what European countries could do to "help kill more Russians." An online petition was subsequently launched calling for the journalist to be fired. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Martens' calls to kill Russians as unacceptable and criminal.