MOSCOW, Dec 25 (Reuters) – Russia is ready to negotiate with all events concerned within the battle in Ukraine however Kyiv and its Western backers have refused to interact in talks, President Vladimir Putin mentioned in an interview aired on Sunday.
Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine has triggered probably the most lethal European battle since World War Two and the most important confrontation between Moscow and the West because the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
There is, to this point, little finish in sight to the battle.
The Kremlin says it can struggle till all its goals are achieved whereas Kyiv says it is not going to relaxation till each Russian soldier is ejected from all of its territory.
“We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin instructed Rossiya 1 state tv.
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned Putin wanted to return to actuality and acknowledge it was Russia which didn’t want talks.
“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens,” the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted. “Russia doesn’t want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility.”
‘NO OTHER CHOICE’
Russian assaults on energy stations have left thousands and thousands with out electrical energy, and Zelenskiy mentioned Moscow would purpose to make the previous few days of 2022 darkish and tough.
“Russia has lost everything it could this year. … I know darkness will not prevent us from leading the occupiers to new defeats. But we have to be ready for any scenario,” he mentioned in a night video deal with.
The Ukrainian armed forces’ common workers mentioned there was nonetheless a menace of air and missile strikes on important infrastructure throughout the nation.
Russian troops had shelled dozens of cities and positions alongside the entrance line, it mentioned in a Facebook submit.
Zelenskiy, referring to a strike on the southern metropolis of Kherson on Saturday that officers say killed a minimum of 10 individuals, vowed, “We will find every Russian murderer”.
Putin accused the West of attempting to cleave Russia aside.
“I believe that we are acting in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens,” Putin mentioned.
Asked if the geopolitical battle with the West was approaching a harmful stage, Putin mentioned: “I don’t think it’s so dangerous.”
Putin mentioned the West had begun the battle in 2014 by toppling a pro-Russian Ukrainian president within the Maidan Revolution protests.
Soon after, Russia annexed Crimea and Russian-backed separatist forces started combating in jap Ukraine.
“Actually, the fundamental thing here is the policy of our geopolitical opponents which is aimed at pulling apart Russia, historical Russia,” Putin mentioned.
Putin casts the battle in Ukraine, which he calls a “special military operation,” as a watershed second when Moscow lastly stood up to a Western bloc that he says has been in search of to destroy Russia because the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they solid as an imperial-style battle of occupation.
Putin described Russia as a “unique country” and mentioned the overwhelming majority of its individuals had been united in wanting to defend it.
“As for the main part – the 99.9% of our citizens, our people who are ready to give everything for the interests of the Motherland – there is nothing unusual for me here,” Putin mentioned.
“This just once again convinces me that Russia is a unique country and that we have an exceptional people. This has been confirmed throughout the history of Russia’s existence.”
Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv and David Ljunggren in Ottawa;
Editing by Gareth Jones, Diane Craft and Leslie Adler
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