An afternoon after President Vladimir Putin mentioned he used to be open to negotiations over Ukraine, Russia’s international minister lashed out, announcing Kyiv and the West sought to wreck his nation and Ukraine should meet Moscow’s calls for or its military will.
Putin’s be offering to speak used to be disregarded by way of Ukraine, as his forces endured to batter Ukrainian cities with missiles and rockets, and Moscow stored difficult that Kyiv recognise its conquest of a 5th of the rustic.
Kyiv mentioned it might combat till Russia withdrew.
“Our proposals … are well known to the enemy,” state information company TASS quoted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as announcing past due on Monday.
“The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army.”
‘US and NATO wish to weaken or wreck Russia’
Putin introduced his full-scale invasion on 24 February, claiming the purpose used to be to “denazify” and demilitarise Ukraine, which he mentioned used to be a danger to Russia.
Kyiv and the West say Putin’s invasion used to be simply an imperialist land clutch. The US and its allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia for its invasion and despatched billions of bucks in help to the Ukrainian govt.
Just closing week, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used to be visiting Washington, the United States introduced some other $1.85 billion (€1.69bn) in army help for Ukraine, together with a switch of the Patriot Air Defence System, angering Moscow.
“It is no secret to anyone that the strategic goal of the United States and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism for significantly weakening or even destroying our country,” Lavrov additional advised TASS.
He reiterated that Moscow and Washington may no longer deal with a regular connection, blaming the management of US President Joe Biden.
While Moscow had deliberate a swift operation to take over its neighbour, the conflict is now in its eleventh month, marked by way of many embarrassing Russian battlefield setbacks.
In the most recent assault to show gaps in Russia’s air defences, a drone believed to be Ukrainian penetrated loads of kilometres thru Russian airspace on Monday, inflicting a dangerous explosion on the primary base for its strategic bombers.
Moscow troops stay bombarding Ukraine
Russian forces had been engaged for months in fierce combating within the east and south of Ukraine, to protect the lands Moscow proclaimed it annexed in September and which make up the wider Ukrainian commercial Donbas area.
Over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian assaults within the spaces of 2 settlements within the Luhansk area, and 6 within the Donetsk area, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces mentioned on Tuesday.
In his nightly video message on Monday, Zelenskyy referred to as the location alongside the frontline in Donbas “difficult and painful”.
Oleh Zhdanov, an army analyst primarily based in Kyiv, mentioned heavy combating used to be occurring round increased spaces close to Kreminna within the Luhansk area.
He additionally mentioned that combating has picked up alongside the Bakhmut and Avdiivka, a line of touch additional south within the Donetsk area, after a temporary easing in earlier days.
“The arc of fire in Donetsk region continues to burn,” Zhdanov mentioned in a social media video submit.
Zelenskyy mentioned on account of assaults on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, just about 9 million other folks have been with out energy. That determine quantities to a few quarter of Ukraine’s inhabitants.
Sergey Kovalenko, head of YASNO, which gives electrical energy to Kyiv, mentioned past due on Monday that whilst the facility scenario has been making improvements to within the town, blackouts will proceed.
“While repairs are underway, emergency shutdowns will continue,” Kovalenko mentioned on his Facebook web page.
Putin hosted leaders of different former Soviet states in St Petersburg on Monday for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States staff, which Ukraine has lengthy since surrender.
The invasion of Ukraine has been a check of Russia’s longstanding authority amongst different ex-Soviet states.
In televised remarks, Putin made no direct connection with the conflict whilst announcing threats to the protection and balance of the Eurasian area have been expanding.
“Unfortunately, challenges and threats in this area, especially from the outside, are only growing each year,” he mentioned. “We also have to acknowledge … that disagreements also arise between member states of the commonwealth.”
