Sergei Lavrov made the declaration in an interview with Russian state news agency TASS on Tuesday, US broadcaster CNN reported.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tank, said that, according to Lavrov, “the Kremlin will continue to pursue a military solution to the war until the Ukrainian government capitulates to Russia’s demands.”
Lavrov said in the interview with TASS that Ukraine and the West were “well aware of Russia’s proposals on the demilitarization and denazification” of Ukrainian-controlled territory and that the Russian military "will settle these issues if Ukraine refuses to accept these proposals,” according to the ISW.
The Washington-based think tank observed that Russia’s demands for “demilitarization” seek “to eliminate Ukraine’s ability to resist further Russian attacks,” whereas the Kremlin’s demands for “denazification” are tantamount to “calls for regime change in Ukraine.”
In Tuesday’s interview, Lavrov also stated that Ukraine and the United States “must recognize Russia’s seizure of occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts,” the US experts reported.
Russia’s Lavrov blames Ukraine, US for prolonging war
Lavrov claimed that "US-controlled Ukraine" and the United States “are responsible for prolonging the war as they could put an end to" Ukraine’s "senseless resistance," the ISW also reported.
The US think tank noted that Lavrov’s mention of “a military settlement for the war in Ukraine that achieves Russia’s original war aims” came on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “deliberately vague” statement on December 25 that Russia was “open for negotiations."
The ISW said Putin’s comments were “not an offer to negotiate with Ukraine” and noted that the Kremlin leader “has not set serious conditions for negotiations.”
In Tuesday’s interview, Lavrov further stated that Russia was “unable to work on any agreements with the West,” due to its “provocative actions in Ukraine and elsewhere,” according to the US think tank.
Lavrov accuses US, NATO of trying to ‘destroy’ Russia
Lavrov said, as quoted by the ISW, that the United States and its NATO allies were pursuing “victory over Russia on the battlefield” in Ukraine “as a mechanism for significantly weakening or even destroying” his country.
The US experts added that Lavrov "nonsensically accused US military officials of planning a decapitation blow against the Kremlin that included killing Russian President Vladimir Putin,” and also accused the United States and NATO members of being “de facto parties to the war in Ukraine and of engaging in dangerous nuclear signaling.”
Lavrov also claimed that under these conditions, Russian officials were “unable to maintain normal communications or work on any proposals or agreements with the United States,” as the United States “seeks to inflict strategic defeat against the Russian Federation,” the ISW reported.
Russia’s top diplomat stated that the country’s officials were “ready to discuss security issues in the context of Ukraine and in a broader, strategic plan,” but only when American officials "realize the defectiveness of the current course” and return to "building mutually respectful relations on the basis of the obligatory consideration of legitimate Russian interests,” according to the ISW.
Russian forces shell maternity ward in Kherson
Meanwhile, Russian forces on Tuesday shelled the maternity ward of a hospital in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on the social messaging app Telegram: "Kherson. The Russians fired at the maternity ward of a hospital. They shelled the place where two children were born today.”
Tymoshenko added: “Before the attack, doctors managed to complete a caesarean section. There are five women in the institution after giving birth.”
He also said that no one was injured in the attack, according to the Ukrainska Pravda website.
Ukraine close to recapturing Kreminna?
On the frontlines, Ukrainian troops appeared to have inched closer to retaking the key Russian-held city of Kreminna in the eastern Luhansk province, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported on Tuesday.
It cited the regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, as saying that fighters in part of the city controlled by Russian command “were forced to retreat” to the town of Rubizhne, several miles to the southeast, as a result of Ukraine’s military pressure.
The announcement came as heavy fighting continued in eastern and southern Ukraine, with no indication of imminent peace talks, news outlets reported.
The Guardian noted that recapturing Kreminna and fellow Luhansk city of Svatove could allow Ukraine “to launch an offensive on Severodonetsk and Lysychansk,” two cities it lost in the summer.
Meanwhile, Russian forces focused their efforts on taking the town of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Britain’s defence ministry said in its daily intelligence update on Tuesday.
Zelensky to address parliament on Ukraine’s goals for 2023
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will address the country’s Verkhovna Rada parliament in the immediate future to discuss Ukraine’s internal and external situation, the PAP news agency reported.
In a video address to the nation on Tuesday night, Zelensky said: “In general, this week will be important for Ukraine from a political point of view. We are entering the next year and must retain a common understanding of our national goals.”
He added: “Of course, this is the liberation of our land from the enemy, as well as the restoration of Ukraine, the return of our people home, the further rapprochement of our state with key partners, the opening of new opportunities for Ukraine in the world - these are all tasks for the near future. And not only for the state, but also for each and every one of us.”
The president announced: “Soon I will present my view on the implementation of these tasks in the annual message to the Verkhovna Rada on the external and internal situation of Ukraine. I want this message to be not a report, but our conversation about the coming year.”
Wednesday is day 308 of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, understandingwar.org, CNN, The Guardian, Ukrainska Pravda, president.gov.ua