The former Russian defense minister calls on the West to “admit the existing realities and start negotiating.”
Sergei Shoigu in Saint Petersburg, Russia, September 11, 2024. (Photohost agency brics-russia202 / ALEXEI DANICHEV)
The situation on the ground in Ukraine is now in favor of Moscow, assured Thursday, November 7, the head of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, according to whom, continued support from the West for kyiv will lead to the “destruction of the population Ukrainian.
“Now that the situation in the theater of hostilities is not in favor of the kyiv regime, the West has a choice:
continue its financing (of Ukraine) and the destruction of the Ukrainian people
or admit the existing realities and start negotiating,” he said during a meeting of security officials from countries neighboring Russia.
Sergei Shoigu, who was Defense Minister until May 2024, also once again accused the West of using kyiv to defeat Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine in February 2022 and then claimed the annexation of entire regions of the country. kyiv was able to resist thanks to Western military aid.
A continued escalation in the conflict
But, for the past year, faced with better-armed and more numerous Russian forces as well as growing Western procrastination, the Ukrainian army has been in retreat, and territorial losses have accelerated this fall.
Russia, which bombs Ukrainian cities daily, demands the surrender of Ukraine, that it cede five regions, that it renounces its alliance with the West and its ambition to join NATO.
Americans and Europeans assure kyiv of their unwavering support, but
refuse to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with the weapons they provide
and to shoot down Russian vehicles targeting Ukrainian cities, for fear that this could lead to an escalation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky strongly criticized the West, noting that Moscow is leading a continuous escalation in the conflict, including the suspected deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight Ukraine.
