The West must negotiate to “avoid the worst”, according to Moscow

The West must negotiate in order to avoid the “destruction of the Ukrainian population,” the head of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, ruled on Thursday, according to Russian agencies.

“Now that the situation in the theater of hostilities is not in favor of the kyiv regime, the West has a choice: to continue its financing (of Ukraine) and the destruction of the Ukrainian people or to admit the existing realities and begin to negotiate,” he said during a meeting of security officials from countries neighboring Russia.

Mr. 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.

Ukrainian retreat

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 authorize Ukraine to strike Russian territory with the weapons they supply and to shoot down Russian missiles targeting Ukrainian cities, for fear that this would lead to an escalation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply criticized the West, noting that Moscow was leading a continued escalation in the conflict, including the suspected deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight Ukraine.

ATS