Sergei Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has given Ukraine an ultimatum to follow Moscow’s proposals or its military will decide the matter.
This statement of the Russian Foreign Minister came a day after President Vladimir Putin offered talks to Ukraine.
He had said a day earlier that he was ready for talks with Ukraine, but Kiev and its Western allies have rejected President Putin’s offer of talks.
One of Russia’s demands is that Ukraine should surrender its arms in the territory occupied by it. Moscow continues to demand that Kiev recognize its conquest of a fifth of the country.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says it will fight until Russia withdraws.
The official news agency Tass has reported with reference to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that “the enemy is well aware of our proposals to liberate the government-controlled areas from the military, to eliminate threats to Russia’s security from there.” .’
He said that the point is simple and that Ukraine should meet these demands for its own good. Otherwise, the Russian army will decide this issue.
The Russian president launched his attack on Ukraine on February 24, which he described as a ‘special operation’.
Russian President Vladimir Putin used the concept of “historical Russia” to justify his 10-month invasion, arguing that “Ukrainians and Russians are one people.”
He said that Russia’s “geopolitical opponents want to break historical Russia.”
Entering the 11th month of the war, Russian forces are engaged in heavy fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine after a series of setbacks.
On Monday, Russia claimed that its air force shot down a Ukrainian drone as it approached an air base in southern Russia.
On December 5, Moscow said that Ukrainian drones had bombed Engels Airfield and another base in the Ryazan region.
Russia has previously blamed Ukraine for drone attacks on its territory and Moscow-annexed Crimea.
In late October, Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on a Black Sea fleet in the Crimean coastal city of Sevastopol, but the attack was the largest by the Angles on Russian soil since the conflict began.