Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has issued a new ultimatum regarding Ukraine
The Kremlin has stated that any negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine are unacceptable if they do not meet all of Moscow’s demands. Even in the event of possible territorial concessions, Moscow will not stop and will continue to insist on the fulfilment of its conditions.
This was reported citing a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts drew attention to a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made on 16 March during a joint press conference with Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi.
At that time, Lavrov stated that Russia refuses to end the war even if Ukraine “recognises the realities on the ground” and fully cedes the Donbas to Russia.
In addition, the minister described the possible deployment of European peacekeepers on territory controlled by Kyiv as an occupation.
The ISW notes that in this way the Kremlin is effectively calling Ukraine’s sovereignty into question by attempting to impose a veto over any decisions made by Kyiv in the security sphere.
The report emphasises that rhetoric about the “root causes” of the war is used by Moscow to promote maximalist demands.
Among these are Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO, the establishment of a neutral status, as well as the so-called “demilitarisation” and “denazification”, which imply the replacement of the current government with a pro-Russian one.
Experts emphasise that the Kremlin is not demonstrating any readiness to retreat from these conditions even within the framework of negotiations involving the United States and Ukraine. This indicates that Moscow continues to rely on achieving its strategic objectives through force rather than compromise.
“The Kremlin continues to publicly insist that it does not intend to retreat from these demands even during trilateral negotiations with the United States and Ukraine,” the ISW report states.
Lavrov noted that Russia would only be satisfied with control over the entire Donbas and a change of power in Ukraine.
Russia has promised to stop recruiting Kenyan citizens for the war against Ukraine.
The Russian Federation has banned the recruitment of mercenaries from so-called “friendly” countries.
In December alone, Russia recruited more than 150 foreigners from 25 countries into its armed forces, while around 200 more are preparing to join, according to the head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Oleh Ivashchenko.
Citizens of Bangladesh are being lured to Russia under the guise of civilian employment and are then forced to fight in Ukraine.
