Russia intends to continue the war against Ukraine, despite discussing the possibility of resuming peace talks. Moscow believes the situation tends to further escalate.
This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports on Tuesday, October 27.
According to the head of the Russian foreign policy department, the armed confrontation will continue, and the current developments point to the risk of intensification of the conflict.
Thus, the Russian leadership shows no readiness for an immediate cessation of hostilities, while claiming the possibility of returning to the diplomatic process.
Moscow has repeatedly asserted that it intends to achieve its goals by military means until agreements meeting its demands are reached. The Russian authorities have also rejected the possibility of an unconditional ceasefire along the current front line.
As previously reported by Kurz Ukrainy, on October 26, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that resuming talks involving Ukraine and the US does not mean stopping Russian strikes.
According to the Kremlin representative, the decision to return to a trilateral negotiation format does not imply restrictions on the continuation of hostilities.
A new round of consultations between Ukraine, the US and Russia is tentatively discussed for the first half of November. The main topics of the proposed talks are expected to be the conditions for ending the war and security guarantees. The parties have not yet announced agreement on specific ceasefire terms.
Lavrov's statement came amid intensifying Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. On the night of October 27, Russian forces used 16 ballistic missiles and over 280 drones against Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the main targets of the strikes were energy, transport and other civilian infrastructure facilities. In his assessment, Russia is intensifying its campaign against Ukrainian logistics and the energy system.
Despite the agreement on a local ceasefire for a humanitarian operation in occupied Oleshky, Kherson region, there is no general ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. The Oleshky agreements do not apply to other sectors of the front.
Thus, the statements by Russian leadership about readiness to discuss a peaceful settlement are not yet accompanied by a decision to cease hostilities along the entire front line.
