According to its top politician, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia has no intention of entering into a “direct conflict” with NATO. Russia is much more interested in finding a solution to the crisis in Ukraine through negotiations, says the deputy chairman of the National Security Council and former Russian president, according to the Interfax agency.
However, he warns that any Ukrainian attempt to regain the Crimean peninsula would be a reason for Russia to use “absolutely any weapon” against Kiev. Medvedev also did not rule out Russian troops advancing to Kiev or Lviv. “Nothing can be ruled out here. If you have to go to Kiev, then you have to go to Kiev, if to Lviv, you have to go to Lviv to destroy this infection,” he told Ria Novosti newspaper. agency.
Meanwhile, overnight Russian strikes in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine killed five civilians in the town of Kostyantynivka, according to emergency services. Two other civilians were killed after heavy shelling in the town of Bilopillia in the northern region of Sumy, Ukraine’s Presidential Office said. Seven people were injured.
US considers recapture of Crimea very unlikely
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is not ruling out long-term talks on Ukraine’s future borders. But the decision rests with Ukrainians, he stressed Thursday before a congressional committee in Washington. Any peace deal must be “fair and lasting”. Blinken stressed that Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity must be preserved.
“But how is this specifically defined in the territory, we are waiting for the Ukrainians to tell us.” At the same time, the US Secretary of State added: “I believe there are areas in Ukraine where Ukrainians are determined to fight on the ground. And maybe there are areas where they decide they want to try to win back in other ways.”
According to observers, the head of US diplomacy has indicated that Washington does not believe that troops from Kiev are likely to retake all Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia – especially Crimea. (APA/Portal/AFP)