Moscow threatened this Friday that the war in Ukraine and its tensions with the West will intensify if NATO helps Kyiv with more weapons to defend itself against Russian aggression. As the Kremlin raises the tone of its response, it dismisses the impact these European weapons could have on the battlefield.
“We see all this as an open provocation by the West and an upswing in the conflict that will inevitably lead to an increase in casualties and a dangerous escalation,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajárova commented at the allied summit in Ramstein, Germany , where the deployment of Leopard main battle tanks to Kyiv was discussed. This debate ended with Germany refusing to send the battle tanks and postponing any decision in this regard.
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The representative of the body headed by Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow’s goals – to keep Ukraine under its control – have not changed. “The tasks set out in the special operation to denazify and demilitarize the current Kiev regime and eliminate the most serious threats to the security of our country and its citizens on Ukrainian territory remain relevant and will be fulfilled,” Zajárova said.
The spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry made the statements on the same day that its forces announced new advances in eastern Ukraine, which Kyiv has not confirmed. A week after the Russian government claimed to have taken the town of Soledar, the Russian army claimed to have taken Klishchiivka, another neighboring town in the Bakhmut region.
Zajárova ruled out any negotiations within the framework of the current demands from Kyiv. The Ukrainian President’s press secretary, Volodymyr Zelensky, recently pointed out that the talks are possible if they comply with international law. The Russian foreign spokeswoman criticized that this formula contained “demands to bring Russia to justice and punish it”.
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For his part, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, on Friday belittled the allies’ support for Ukraine. “Experts are aware of the problems that these deliveries cause, because the tanks also need repairs,” said the representative of the Russian president, referring to the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have never had Leopard tanks. “We have repeatedly said that such deliveries cannot change anything, but will cause more problems for Ukraine,” Peskov added.
The Kremlin spokesman reiterated his speech that supporting Kyiv amid tensions with the West only triggers “an upward spiral” and stressed that Russia will hold its military pulse to the end. “We see an obligation [en Occidente] with the tragic delusion that it is possible for Ukraine to have any success on the battlefield. This is a tragic swindle by the Western community that will be regretted more than once.”
Peskov pointed out that the only way out of the current confrontation is for the West to meet the pre-war Moscow demands of NATO, including expelling all of its members from Eastern Europe to return to their 1997 configuration Russia’s concerns, they need to rewind the tape [hasta finales de 2021]when Russia suggested discussing its fears at the negotiating table, and this was completely rejected,” Peskov stressed.
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