Moscow Says Its Military Operation in Ukraine will Continue Until Military Goals Achieved
The Kremlin says Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine will continue until all of its objectives are achieved.
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the remarks in a press conference on Monday.
Ukraine had already claimed on the weekend it had managed to make significant advances against Russian forces in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
“The special military operation continues and will continue until the objectives that were originally set are achieved,” Peskov told reporters, adding that he saw “no prospects for negotiations” between Moscow and Kiev.
Ukraine’s army chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, announced on Sunday that his forces continued pushing northward in Kharkiv and advancing to its south and east. Ukraine’s armed forces had regained control of over 3,000 square kilometers since the beginning of this month, the general said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on the same day that forces were hitting Ukrainian army positions in Kharkiv with precision strikes delivered by airborne troops, missiles and artillery. The ministry said it was withdrawing troops from two areas of the northeastern region, adding that its forces there were just going through a “redeployment” process.
It also announced that more than 300 Ukrainian troops had been killed and up to 1,000 wounded in the previous 24 hours.
Russia began the war in Ukraine with a declared aim of “demilitarizing” Donbas, which is made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk self-proclaimed republics. Back in 2014, the two republics broke away from Ukraine, refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government there that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.
Still no talks on demilitarization of Zaporizhzhia: Kremlin
Elsewhere in his remarks on Monday, Peskov said there were no discussions about the possible demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. Russian forces seized the plant soon after Moscow launched its “special military operation” in the ex-Soviet country on February 24. Ukraine accuses Russia of storing heavy weapons in the plant. Moscow denies the allegation.
The plant has come under fire repeatedly in recent weeks, raising concerns of a potential Chernobyl-style nuclear incident after the site was hit by shelling.
Both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of targeting the facility.
Late last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said specialists at the plant were working to ensure its safety. He said Moscow was ready to continue work with the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to agree on “non-politicized” solutions to problems at the facility.
Despite the attacks, the Ukrainian staff continues to operate Zaporizhzhia.
Russia has also taken control of the Chernobyl plant, about 100 kilometers north of Kiev, which has been one of the most radioactive locations on earth since it saw an explosion in its fourth reactor in April 1986.
Germany refuses to give main battle tanks to Ukraine
Separately on Monday, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht rejected Ukrainian demands for battle tanks.
“No country has delivered Western-built infantry fighting vehicles or main battle tanks so far. We have agreed with our partners that Germany will not take such action unilaterally,” she said.
Since the onset of the conflict between the two countries, the United States and its European allies have unleashed an array of unprecedented sanctions against Russia and poured numerous batches of advanced weapons in Ukraine to help its military fend off the Russian troops, despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such measures will only prolong the war.
Germany has for its part offered substantial support to Ukraine, sending billions of dollars in military aid and heavy weaponry to the country. Germany is the fourth largest donor to Ukraine, behind the US, the UK, and Poland
Source: Press TV