Moscow warns against deploying Western forces… and escalates against Kyiv’s delegation to negotiations

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his country’s conditions for stopping the military operation in Ukraine, and stressed, during a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, yesterday, to adhere to his country’s “principal positions in the framework of negotiations” with the Ukrainian delegation. Concurrent Russian military pressure around major cities in Ukraine; Especially in Kharkiv and Mariupol, with the escalation of the Russian criticism of the Ukrainian negotiators, whom the Russian Foreign Ministry described as “not representing Ukraine and receiving orders from Washington.”

The Kremlin announced that Putin discussed by phone with Scholz the ongoing negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to stop hostilities in Ukraine. And he stated, in a statement, that Putin reiterated “a number of considerations in the context of Russia’s principled positions in these negotiations.” The call came a day after a call Putin received from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, during which the negotiations file was also focused. Meanwhile, the Kremlin yesterday warned the West against responding to calls by Western countries, led by Poland, to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine. “This would be a reckless and dangerous move, and could lead to irreparable consequences,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added that his country “is carrying out a special military operation in this region, and any potential friction between our military forces and NATO forces could lead to clear and difficult consequences to repair.”

Checkpoints in central Kyiv (AFP)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had issued a similar warning earlier, and considered the Polish call “demagogic”, noting that NATO’s adoption of such a decision could lead to a direct clash between Russia and NATO.

Lavrov added that Polish officials, who announce the need to send NATO peacekeepers to Ukraine, are known for their “provocative moves” aimed at creating a “big problem”.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin stressed its rejection of the data provided by Ukraine and the West about civilian casualties in Ukraine during the military operation. “Moscow does not trust Kyiv’s statements about civilian casualties as a result of Russian bombings,” Peskov said, noting that “the Russian military does not fight against civilians.” During a press briefing yesterday, Peskov commented on the reports of the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office about the deaths of civilians, including children, as a result of the strikes of the Russian army. He said, “We do not believe the Ukrainian Public Prosecution … Russian soldiers do not target civilians, they help them, and unfortunately there are many witnesses who come out of the cities and say that they were being held there as human shields. The ultra-nationalist brigades are shooting at civilians, and such incidents have increased on a large scale.” Peskov said that the Russian military “does not fight Ukrainian civilians as long as they do not take up arms and do not aim at our soldiers.”

Military preparations for a possible attack on the Ukrainian capital (AFP)

At the same time, Peskov downplayed the importance of Western reports that the Russian military operation faltered and collided with resistance that diverted the course of the fighting, and said that “the military operation in Ukraine continues according to the plans and goals set.”

This coincided with a violent campaign launched by the Russian Foreign Ministry against the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, in what appeared to be a continuation of a campaign that began two days ago, against the background of the negotiations faltering and the Ukrainian delegation’s refusal to make substantial concessions. Moscow announced the day before yesterday that it was “not satisfied with the negotiating process that is going slowly,” but Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova escalated the tone of criticism yesterday, and said that “the Ukrainian negotiating delegation participating in the negotiations with Russia does not represent the Ukrainian point of view, but rather works.” According to American recommendations. And she added, “It is possible to have a constructive dialogue if the person you are negotiating with represents his country, unlike what we are witnessing now, when the negotiating delegation is proceeding from the dictates of the United States (…) They read the leaflets that are written and sent to them from there (America), so any dialogue Will it be in this case?! There may be dialogue, but it will not lead to the desired result.”

On the ground, the Russian forces continued strong military pressure around the major Ukrainian cities, and as the battles continued in Kharkiv and Mariupol, it seemed that the Russian forces again slowed their progress towards Kyiv, while the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it targeted a large shipment of Russian weapons in the Rivne region near the city of Lviv. Western weapons that were recently delivered to Ukraine, with high-precision long-range missiles, were launched from naval bases. This is the third strike in less than a week on areas in western Ukraine, where Moscow says that quantities of Western weapons and equipment are being stored.

The Ukrainian forces obtained a large part of that arsenal of weapons and military equipment from Western countries. In the southeastern regions of Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov announced that the Russian armed forces have continued over the past 24 hours to target units of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is fighting to regain control of the town of Novomykhailovka (near Donetsk). He said that Donetsk forces, “after they had combed the town of Verkhnytoretskoye from the extremist Ukrainian nationalists, continued to pursue the remnants of the Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade, and had taken control of the railway station in the town of Novopakhmutovka.”

In his daily briefing of the military operations, the spokesman added that 3 tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, two mortars and 5 off-road vehicles were destroyed during the last night. He said that Russian planes and helicopters bombed 97 targets of military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, including two launchers, a transport and loading vehicle, and the “Tochka U” tactical missile system in the industrial area north on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, and 8 anti-aircraft missile systems, including 6 Buk systems, an S-300 system, one ZRK-Bee combat vehicle, 10 command posts, 8 field guns, in addition to 3 artillery reconnaissance stations produced by NATO countries.

On the last day, Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft in the area of ​​the city of Izyum, and 16 Ukrainian drones, including 3 Bayraktar TB-2 aircraft, in the vicinity of the towns of Rozhin, Karashev and Maxim Gorky.