Kyiv, UKRAINE (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Tuesday that Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demands to “demilitarize” and “de-Nazize” the military threat to Russia. solve the problem. ”
Sergey Lavrov also accused the West of fueling the war in Ukraine to undermine Russia, and how long the conflict, which began on February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine, will last is uncertain. said it depends on Washington.
“Regarding the duration of the conflict, the ball is on the side of the (Kyiv) regime and Washington stands behind it,” Lavrov told the state-run TASS news agency. “They may stop their senseless resistance at any moment.”
In a clear response, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podlyak tweeted that “Russia needs to face reality.”
“No mass mobilization, no panicked ammunition searches, no secret deals with Iran, no threats from Lavrov, will help,” he said. “Ukraine will demilitarize the RF (Russian Federation) to the end and expel the aggressors from all occupied territories. Quietly wait for the finale…”
The day before, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva said in an interview with the Associated Press: His government wants a summit to end the war, but doesn’t expect Russia to participate.
Kuleva said Ukraine wants a “peace” summit within two months, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres as an intermediary. But he also said Russia must face a war crimes tribunal before his country can speak directly to Moscow.
Both statements show how complex and difficult the attempt to end the war is. Ukraine has said in the past that it will not negotiate with Russia before withdrawing its troops entirely, but Moscow insists on military interests and its annexation of Crimea in 2014 cannot be ignored.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued on Tuesday in the Russian-claimed Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the most violent clashes in recent memory.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hannah Marial said Russian forces were trying to besiege the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, but without success. Heavy fighting is also underway around the city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region, said Luhansk governor Serhiy Haydai.
In the partly occupied southern Kherson region, Russian forces shelled 40 Ukrainian-held areas on Monday, injuring one person, Ukrainian officials said. The city of Kherson itself, which Ukraine recaptured in a landslide victory last month, has been targeted 11 times, said regional administrator Yaroslav Yanushevich.
Since its first advances at the start of the war ten months ago, Russia has made few major strides, instead often battering Ukraine’s infrastructure and turning millions of people to electricity in winter conditions. , without heating or hot water.
Lavrov did not specify how the Russian military would achieve the goal of demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine. It stems from Russia’s claim to be heavily influenced. This claim is ridiculed by Ukraine and Western countries.
Lavrov warned that further Western support for Ukraine could lead to direct confrontation.
“We continue to warn our Western enemies of the dangers in their path to escalate the Ukraine crisis,” he said, adding that “the risk of the situation spiraling out of control remains high.” .
“The strategic goal of the United States and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield and significantly undermine and even destroy our country,” he said.
____
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
