Moscow again threatens Kyiv with territorial seizure by military means
The Kremlin demands that Kyiv make a swift decision to withdraw Ukrainian troops from the territory of Donbas.
This was stated by the press secretary of the Russian dictator Dmitry Peskov, as reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Russian RBK.
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“Zelensky (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – ed.) must make a decision today for Ukrainian troops to leave the administrative borders of Donbas. This has been stated repeatedly. In fact, Zelensky should have made this decision yesterday. He must take responsibility and make this difficult decision,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
This is how Peskov commented on Zelensky’s words that Moscow has presented Kyiv with a new ultimatum regarding the withdrawal of troops from Donbas.
According to him, the Russian side has warned that otherwise, it will seize the territory by military means.
What preceded this
Yesterday, March 31, Zelensky stated that the aggressor country has put forward new conditions for ending the war – it demands that Ukraine leave Donbas within two months. The Ukrainian president noted that he is surprised that anyone could take such statements seriously after all the years of war.
The president reported that the Russian Federation demands that Ukraine leave Donbas within two months, after which, according to them, the war will end.
The issue of Donbas in negotiations
Recall that earlier Zelensky rejected any exchange of Donbas territory for other regions. He noted that the Russian Federation understands that it will be able to hold border territories, and there will come a time when the Armed Forces of Ukraine will push the occupiers out of there.
Furthermore, the president of Ukraine emphasized that during future negotiations, it is necessary to agree on a meeting at the leaders’ level, as it is in this format that a solution to the territorial issue can be reached.
It should be noted that on March 25, Zelensky stated that the U.S. set a condition under which Ukraine must withdraw its troops from Donbas to receive security guarantees.
According to him, Washington is ready to finalize these guarantees “at a high level” as soon as Kyiv is prepared to take this step. Zelensky warned that this would jeopardize the security of both Ukraine and Europe.
Later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Zelensky’s statement a “lie.” According to him, Washington did not set any conditions for Ukraine regarding the withdrawal of troops.
