- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will end “once its tasks are fulfilled,” a senior Russian official has said.
- Thousands of Ukrainians have been killed since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February and millions have been driven from their homes.
- Polishchuk said that one of Moscow’s goals was also the elimination of threats to Russia coming from Ukrainian territory “due to its colonization by NATO members.”
A top Russian official has stated that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will terminate “after its duties are completed”, as reported by Newsweek.
Peaceful population
According to Alexey Polishchuk of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s second CIS department, the war will end when Moscow achieves “protection of the peaceful population of Donbas, demilitarisation, and denazification of Ukraine,” according to state news agency Tass.
Since Russian forces entered Ukraine in February, thousands of Ukrainians have been dead, and millions have been forced to flee their homes. Russia’s army has also suffered significant losses in the face of Ukrainian resistance, and Western countries have slapped broad sanctions on Russia as a result of the conflict.
One of Moscow’s priorities, according to Polishchuk, is to eliminate dangers to Russia originating from Ukrainian land “due to its colonisation by NATO countries.”
Denazification
“All of its objectives will be met,” Polishchuk told official news outlet Tass, describing the war as a “special military operation,” which he insisted was going according to plan. The Ukrainian foreign ministry has been approached by Newsweek for comment.
One of the justifications for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, which has been harshly condemned by Kyiv and the West, is “denazification.”
Putin had no plans to “occupy Ukrainian areas,” according to the Kremlin, according to Tass.
Ukraine and its Western allies have scoffed at Moscow’s justifications for the invasion, accusing Russian forces of war crimes, which Russia denies.
Liberation of Mariupol
Putin praised the “liberation” of Mariupol, the southern port city at the centre of a catastrophic siege by his forces. Polishchuk’s remarks come as Putin hailed the “liberation” of Mariupol, the southern port city at the centre of a severe siege by his forces.
The Russian president thanked Sergei Shoigu, his defence minister, for regaining control of the city, which had been largely damaged.
Putin informed Shoigu in a televised conference on Thursday that Russian forces will not raid the Azovstal steel mill, the country’s largest industrial complex, where more than 1,500 civilians and injured soldiers are reported to be sheltering.
The Russian president did, however, direct that the area be sealed up so that “not even a fly” can pass through.
Donbas conflict
Russia had only achieved “incremental progress in Mariupol and continued to build circumstances to proclaim victory in the city by—at the latest—May 9,” according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The declaration concerning Mariupol, according to General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of the United Kingdom’s Joint Forces Command, permits Russia’s military to avoid spending more resources on a struggle for the steelworks that is militarily “irrelevant.” He claimed it would allow Russia to concentrate on “what really counts now—the Donbas conflict” in the country’s east.
Vadym Boichenko, the mayor of Mariupol, said during a press conference that roughly 100,000 people remain in the besieged city. Around 200 people are on the waiting list to be evacuated, with about 80 of them being evacuated on Wednesday.
According to the British Defense Ministry, Russia would like to show off significant military successes in its invasion before the yearly remembrance of World War II’s end on May 9.
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Source: Newsweek
