Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that the frontline situation in the Donbass region was “difficult and painful” and required all of his country’s “strength and concentration”.
“First of all, the situation on the front line. Bakhmut, Krymina and other regions of Donbass, which require maximum strength and concentration,” Zelensky added in his recorded night speech.
He continued: “The situation is difficult and painful. The occupiers are deploying all the resources at their disposal, which are great resources, to make progress.”
Zelensky also said the power outages are still ongoing, affecting an estimated 9 million residents.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
Lavrov: Ukraine must implement Russia’s proposals, otherwise the decision will rest with our army
At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow’s proposals on “disarmament” and “elimination of Nazism” in Ukraine are well known in Kiev, and it is up to the Ukrainian authorities to fulfill them, otherwise the Russian military will decide on these issues.
the case.
The official Russian news agency quoted Lavrov as saying: “Our proposals for the disarmament and elimination of Nazism in the territories which
Controlled by the regime and the elimination of threats to Russia’s security from there, including our new territories, known to the enemy.
The Russian minister added: “The question is simple: implement it for your own good, otherwise the Russian army will decide.”
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba (Reuters)
Foreign Minister of Ukraine: We are looking for a peace summit at the end of February
This he stated Foreign Minister of UkraineOn Monday, that his government aims to hold a peace summit by the end of next February, preferably at the United Nations in the presence of Secretary General Antonio Guterres as a potential mediator, on the anniversary of the start of the Russian war against his country approaches.
Dmytro Kuleba told the Associated Press that he was “completely satisfied” with the results of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Washington last week, and revealed that the US government had drawn up a special plan to prepare a battery of Patriot missiles for operate in his country in less than six months.
Kuleba also hinted during the interview at the Foreign Ministry headquarters that Ukraine will do everything in its power to win the war in 2023, adding that diplomacy always plays an important role.
He said: “Every war ends diplomatically. Every war ends as a result of actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”
In response to a question about whether Moscow would be invited to attend the alleged peace summit, he said war crimes trials must first be held in an international tribunal.
Once again, the foreign minister downplayed the importance of the Russian authorities’ declarations of readiness for negotiations.
He commented, “They always say they’re ready for negotiations, and that’s not true. Everything they do on the battlefield proves otherwise.”
