Russia’s international minister has accused Ukraine and the West of searching for to destroy his nation and says Kyiv should settle for Moscow’s calls for for ending the warfare or else watch because the Russian armed forces obtain them on the battlefield.
Sergei Lavrov’s feedback, made late on Monday amid continued heavy preventing in japanese Ukraine, got here a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin stated he was open to negotiations, however solely on Moscow’s phrases.
These embody Ukraine recognizing Russia’s conquest of one-fifth of its territory.
Kyiv, armed and supported by the USA and its NATO allies, says it’s going to get better all its occupied territory and drive out all Russian troopers.
“Our proposals for the demilitarisation and denazification of the territories managed by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia’s safety emanating from there, together with our new lands, are well-known to the enemy,” state information company TASS quoted Mr Lavrov as saying.
“The purpose is easy: Fulfill them in your personal good.” In any other case, the difficulty might be determined by the Russian military.”
Mr Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, calling it a “particular operation” to “denazify” and demilitarise Ukraine, which he forged as a pawn of the West that threatened Russia.
Kyiv and the West say Putin’s invasion quantities to an imperialist land seize.
The US and its allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia for its invasion and despatched billions of {dollars} in help to the Ukrainian authorities.
Simply final week, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was visiting Washington, the US introduced one other $US1.85 billion ($2.75 billion) in army help for Ukraine, together with a switch of the Patriot Air Protection System, angering Moscow.
“It’s no secret to anybody that the strategic aim of the USA and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism for considerably weakening and even destroying our nation,” Mr Lavrov advised TASS.
Whereas Moscow had deliberate a swift operation to take over its neighbor, the warfare is now in its 11th month, marked by many embarrassing Russian battlefield setbacks.
Within the newest assault to reveal gaps in Russia’s air defenses, a drone believed to be Ukrainian penetrated a whole lot of kilometers by means of Russian airspace on Monday, inflicting a lethal explosion on the essential base for its strategic bombers.
The heaviest preventing is within the japanese Donetsk and Luhansk provinces that collectively make up the economic Donbas area.
Russia claimed in September to have annexed them, together with the southern provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, however doesn’t totally management any of them.
In his nightly video message on Monday, Mr Zelensky known as the scenario alongside the frontline in Donbas “troublesome and painful”.
Over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian assaults within the areas of two settlements in Luhansk province and 6 in Donetsk, the Normal Employees of Ukraine’s Armed Forces stated on Tuesday.
It additionally reported extra Russian shelling of Kherson metropolis, within the Zaporizhzhia area and of settlements within the Kharkiv area of northeastern Ukraine close to the border with Russia.
Oleh Zhdanov, a army analyst primarily based in Kyiv, cited notably heavy preventing round elevated areas close to Ukraine-held Kreminna in Luhansk.
He stated preventing had additionally picked up alongside the Bakhmut and Avdiivka line of contact, additional south within the Donetsk area.
“The arc of fireplace in Donetsk area continues to burn,” Mr Zhdanov stated in a social media video submit.
Reuters footage from Bakhmut confirmed fires burning inside a stricken neo-classical constructing, whereas close by streets have been strewn with particles and lots of buildings have been with out home windows.
Mr Zelensky stated because of assaults on Ukraine’s vitality infrastructure practically 9 million individuals have been with out energy. That determine quantities to about one-quarter of Ukraine’s inhabitants.
Moscow stated on Monday it had shot down a drone believed to be Ukrainian, inflicting it to crash on the Engels air base, the place three service members have been killed. Ukraine didn’t remark, underneath its ordinary coverage on incidents inside Russia.
