Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday summed up the results of the first week of the “special military operation” in Ukraine: everything is going “in strict accordance with the schedule, according to the plan”, “all the tasks set are being successfully solved.” At the same time, he instructed to appoint additional payments to wounded servicemen and members of the families of the victims (according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, there are 1,597 and 498 of them, respectively). The Russian president also had a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, after which they said in Paris: “The worst is yet to come.” Against this background, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky again called on Vladimir Putin for direct negotiations.
Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Russian Security Council yesterday, talking about some of the results of the “military operation” launched on February 24 in Ukraine.
“I want to say that the special military operation is proceeding in strict accordance with the schedule, according to the plan. All tasks set are being successfully solved,” he said.
According to him, “on Ukrainian territory, our soldiers and officers are fighting for Russia, for a peaceful life for the citizens of Donbass, for the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, so that no anti-Russia, created by the West for years right at our borders, threatens us, including and nuclear weapons, as it has been in recent times.
The day before, the Ministry of Defense spoke about the losses of the Russian side during the “operation”: 1597 wounded and 498 dead. Vladimir Putin instructed the victims and the families of the dead to receive additional payments: the wounded will receive 2.968 million rubles, as provided for by law, and an additional 3 million rubles; the relatives of the victims will be transferred the due compensation in the amount of 7.421 million rubles. and an additional 5 million rubles. “Our duty is to support the families of the dead and wounded comrades who fought for the security of the fatherland, for our people, for the people of Russia,” Vladimir Putin said.
At the same time, he stressed that he would “never” give up his conviction that “Russians and Ukrainians are one people.”
“Even despite the fact that some of the inhabitants of Ukraine were intimidated, many were fooled by nationalist propaganda, and someone deliberately, of course, followed the path of Bandera, other Nazi henchmen who fought on the side of Hitler during the Great Patriotic War,” the Russian president said. .
According to him, “the fact that we are fighting specifically with neo-Nazis shows the very course of hostilities.” “Nationalist and neo-Nazi formations, and among them there are foreign mercenaries, including those from the Middle East, are hiding behind civilians as a“ human shield, ”Vladimir Putin developed his thought.“ Only the Nazis fought like that, treated the civilian population so inhumanly when Soviet troops fought them, including liberating the territory of Ukraine. Russian soldiers and officers participating in the “special military operation”, according to the President of the Russian Federation, “are trying to prevent casualties among the civilian population.”
It should be noted that, according to the UN, from February 24 to March 1, during the hostilities in Ukraine, 227 civilians were killed, 525 were injured. More than 1 million people fled from the “special military operation” to other countries.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also commented on this topic in an interview with six TV channels yesterday. “To be frank, it is, of course, bad when people die: military personnel, civilians (women, children). It was eight years in the Donbass and is now taking place during a special Russian military operation designed to end any war that could take place on Ukrainian territory and stem from there,” he said. According to the Russian minister, “unfortunately, any hostilities are associated with casualties, and not only among the military, but also among the civilian population.” “Our servicemen who are participating in the special operation have strict orders to use only high-precision weapons to suppress military infrastructure. Even the barracks where the Ukrainian servicemen are stationed are not subject to any attack, blows,” Sergey Lavrov assured.
The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed confidence that a solution “will be found.” According to him, “on the world stage, a picture is being created, like in Hollywood: there is absolute evil and absolute good, embodied in the character who is the screenwriter of this action movie.” “It’s sad,” Sergey Lavrov said, adding: “This hysteria will pass. Our Western partners will “go wild”. We are always ready for dialogue on one indispensable condition – solely on the basis of equality, respect and consideration of each other’s interests.
So far, however, everything is bad with the establishment of a dialogue between Russia and the West. This became once again evident following the results of a telephone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron held yesterday.
The Kremlin reported that the President of the Russian Federation argued with his French counterpart, who on the eve called it a “lie” that Russia in Ukraine is fighting Nazism. “In this regard (Vladimir Putin.— “b”) reasoned explanations were given about the significant role of neo-Nazis in the state policy of Kyiv,” the administration of the Russian president noted. placing military equipment in residential areas and using the civilian population as human shields.”
Vladimir Putin explained to Emmanuel Macron what Moscow is seeking from Kyiv: “First of all, we are talking about the demilitarization and neutral status of Ukraine, so that a threat to the Russian Federation never comes from its territory.” He warned: “The objectives of the special military operation will be fulfilled in any case, and attempts to buy time by dragging out negotiations will only lead to the fact that in the Russian negotiating position there will be additional demands on Kiev.”
In the Elysee Palace, pessimistic conclusions were drawn from all this. “There was nothing in what President Putin told us that could reassure or reassure us. He showed great determination to continue the operation,” a senior assistant to the French leader told reporters on condition of anonymity. “President of the Republic (Emmanuel Macron.— “b”) expects the worst is yet to come, given what President Putin has told him. Russian ambitions are to take over all of Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday again called on Vladimir Putin for direct talks. “Get off our land! If you don’t want to leave now, sit down with me at the negotiating table, I’m free,” he turned to his Russian colleague. “I don’t bite. I’m a normal man, sit down with me, talk. What are you afraid of? We do not threaten anyone, we are not terrorists. We don’t take over banks. And we do not seize other people’s lands.
Moscow, however, does not see the need for direct contacts between the two presidents, preferring to conduct a dialogue with Kiev several levels lower.