December 29, 2022

1. Lavrov: US-led collective West has long declared war on Russia

The US-led collective West declared war on Russia long ago, most notably, after the 2014 coup in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Great Game TV program on Russian Federal Channel One on December 28

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"The collective West, which is headed by a nuclear power - the United States, is at war with us. This war was declared on us quite a long time ago, after the coup d’etat in Ukraine [in February 2014] that was orchestrated by the United States and, in fact, backed by the European Union, and after the Minsk agreements that nobody was going to implement, as it now appears, and Ms. Merkel [Former German Chancellor] confirmed that once again," the Russian Foreign Minister said.

In an interview with the German national weekly Die Zeit published on December 7, Angela Merkel described the conclusion of the Minsk agreements in 2014 as an attempt to give Ukraine time to get stronger. She argued that it was clear to everyone that the conflict was stalled and the problem had not been resolved, "but this was what gave Ukraine invaluable time." She expressed doubt as to whether NATO countries would have been able to provide support to Kiev at that time to the same extent that they were doing now.

In reply to a question: ”When you talk about the four regions, do you refer to their administrative borders or the part of their territory, as of today, that Russia has brought under its control?”, Sergey Lavrov said: “No, I am talking about the borders of these regions as part of the Russian Federation, in keeping with our country’s Constitution. It is an obvious thing”.

2. Lavrov expressed doubt on potential talks with Kiev

In response to a question put by Russia Today news agency on December 29 whether Moscow is ready to talk with any political force or political figure in Ukraine Russian Foreign Minister replied that current Ukrainian leaders are well known by their inability to reach agreements.

In Lavrov’s words, most of them are outright Russophobes. He recalled that immediately after the start of the Special Military Operation, Zelensky came up with an initiative to sit down at the negotiating table. Moscow did not reject it and agreed to a meeting with his representatives. Several rounds of talks showed that it was possible to find mutually acceptable agreements. However, the negotiation process which began in February 2022 demonstrated that Zelensky was not completely independent in making important decisions. Already in April, at the behest of the Anglo-Saxons, who are interested in the continuation of hostilities, he quickly stopped negotiations and sharply toughened his position.

It is obvious that Kiev is not ready for dialogue. Proposing all kinds of ideas and "formulas for peace," Zelensky cherishes the illusion that with the help of the West he will obtain the withdrawal of Russian troops from Russian territory in Donbas, Crimea, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, reparations from Russia, appearance "in international tribunals" pleading guilty and so on.

On December 28, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov claimed that the plan ignores the reality on the ground. He was referring to the results of referenda in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, overwhelmingly voted to join Russia this autumn. Crimea did the same in 2014 following the Maidan coup in Kiev and its own referendum.

Ukraine is still not ready for negotiations with Russia, including on the UN platform, says head of the Russian State Duma Committee on international affairs, member of the Russian delegation to talks with Ukraine Leonid Slutsky.

"Ukraine is still not ready to hold peace negotiations; all the statements made by [Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry] Kuleba are a smoke screen," Slutsky said, commenting on the statement by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres regarding his readiness to mediate at a "peace summit," proposed by Kuleba earlier.

Slutsky underscored that it was the Ukrainian side that withdrew from the Istanbul peace process, instead choosing a path of escalation. He noted that "the ball is still in Kiev’s court," adding that the goals of the special military operation remain the same, those being the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

The senior lawmaker also noted that Russia has been calling on the international community to stop weapons supplies to Kiev. "Russia has repeatedly called on the international community, including at the parliamentary level, asking to stop arming the Kiev regime; however, Western states continue sponsoring and supplying heavy weapons. This is what the UN should pay greater attention to," the lawmaker said. "And as long as this situation remains, Kiev will continue to misinform the global community regarding its position on negotiations. As long as the entire NATO bloc is fighting against Russia in Ukraine, any so-called peace formulas from [Kiev authorities] will be ineffective," Slutsky concluded.

3. Three killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airfield – MoD

Three Russian servicemen were killed by debris from a destroyed UAV, the Defense Ministry said. Ukraine targeted the Engels military airfield in Russia’s Saratov Region with a drone on December 26. The Saratov Region is located deep inside Russia, some 900 km from the Kiev-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.

The UAV, traveling at a low altitude, was shot down by the base’s air defenses, but three servicemen suffered fatal wounds from the falling debris, the Ministry added. The men who died were technical staff, and none of the aircraft stationed at the airfield were damaged in the incident, the statement said.

On December 5, 2022, Ukraine attempted similar drone attacks on the Engels facility and the Dyagilevo airfield in Russia’s Ryazan Region. According to the Defense Ministry, the “Soviet-made” jet drones called “Strizh” used in the strikes were destroyed by air defenses, but their debris ended up killing three service personnel and “slightly” damaging two aircraft.

The latest Ukrainian UAV attack caused strong criticism by Russian military experts. Some of the urged the MoD to hit all Ukrainian facilities where such drones are located.

A Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile landed on Belarusian territory on December 29. The Belarusian Defense Ministry announced that the missile landed near the city of Ivanovo in the country’s southwestern Brest Region, which shares a border with Ukraine. Investigators believe the Ukrainian missile may have veered off course and fallen on Belarusian soil. The incident caused no casualties.

4. Moscow responds to Kiev’s ‘peace summit’ idea

Kiev's proposal of a so-called “peace summit” amid its conflict with Moscow would be impossible if Russia is not invited, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on December 27. Such an event would be viable without Ukraine, but not Russia, a top diplomat has said.

He referred to an idea floated by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba on December 26 to hold such an event under the auspices of the UN by the end of February 2023 to mark the anniversary of Russia’s military operation against Ukraine. The office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he was ready to mediate talks, but only if all parties agree to them. However, Kuleba also demanded that before Moscow be allowed to join at the negotiating table, it should face an “international court” and be prosecuted for its alleged war crimes.

Polyansky also pushed back against an allegation put forth by Kiev that Russia had become a member of the UN Security Council and the UN in general “illegally.” He denounced such statements as “nonsense,” which nobody pays attention to. “If you try to combine these two pieces of news, they are mutually exclusive. What ‘peace summit’ could be without Russia?” he asked, adding, however, that it is not difficult to imagine such an event taking place without Ukraine. The Russian diplomat described such an eventuality as “a nightmare scenario” for Ukrainian officials, who, by spearheading such initiatives as a peace summit without Russia, actually make such an outcome more probable.

The idea of a ‘Global Peace Summit’ was suggested by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier December. According to the Ukrainian leader, it should focus on a ten-point “peace formula” that he drew up. This includes the restoration of Ukraine’s “territorial integrity,” the withdrawal of Russian troops, an “all for all” prisoner swap, as well as a tribunal for those Kiev accuses of aggression.

5. Russian MoD: Ukraine presents global cyber threat

Ukraine poses a global challenge to the international community, as the country is being used by NATO as a vehicle for the uncontrolled distribution of cyberweapons, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said on December 28. Speaking to RIA Novosti, Syromolotov stated that the “threats posed by Ukraine in the information space are of a universal nature.” He went on to say that the US-led military bloc “is essentially distributing digital weapons in an uncontrolled fashion” via Ukraine.

These activities could trigger “unpredictable consequences for all members of the international community,” the deputy foreign minister warned. “Today, it is Russia which is in the crosshairs, and tomorrow it may be any other state that Washington dislikes.” Syromolotov did not elaborate on the type of weapons he meant, but noted that after Russia began its military operation in the neighboring state in late February, it faced “unprecedented external aggression in the information space,” with the number of cyber-attacks on Russia increasing by as much as 80%. Earlier, he claimed that these attacks mostly come from the EU and North America.

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Written by Vladimir P. Kozin