Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Russia says Western sanctions not fatal difficulties
MOSCOW/KYIV -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continued on Sunday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Russian army is preparing for active hostilities by mobilizing its forces and personnel, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported on Saturday.
"As of now, the intensity of the enemy's offensive operations has been reduced, but in reality, they are preparing to continue these actions," Maliar said.
Separately, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, head of the Regional Military Administration in the northeastern Sumy region, said that fierce fighting is underway in three districts of the region.
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The current crisis is worse than it was during the Cold War, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday.
"At that time, Russia's counterparts were not trying to bring the situation to the boiling point, they did not impose sanctions on industries, agriculture and individuals," Medvedev told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency in an interview.
"But western sanctions are not fatal difficulties for Russia," he said.
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Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the peace negotiations with Russia, said that at the talks, Kyiv insists on creating a system of security guarantees for Ukraine, the Ukrainian presidential press service reported Saturday.
"Ukraine insists on a system of security guarantees, which will include countries that are ready to provide these guarantees, including in the military sense," Podolyak said.
He stressed that such a system should involve the United States as a guarantor of Ukraine's security.
The issue of territorial integrity is extremely important for Ukraine, Podolyak said, noting that the future of Crimea and rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine should be decided only by the presidents of Ukraine and Russia.
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Moscow is ready to hold talks on equal terms with Washington, while the United States is doing everything to further complicate the work of Russian diplomats, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Saturday.
"We do not dodge dialogue and are ready to hold talks but only on equal terms, on condition there is a reciprocal movement, which cannot be seen in Washington even under a magnifying glass," Zakharova said.
"The US is doing everything to further hamper the performance of Russian diplomatic missions in the United States while at the same time engaging in hypocritical speculations on the need to preserve a diplomatic presence," she added, urging Washington to think of the repercussions.
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At least five people were injured in missile attacks on Ukraine's western city of Lviv on Saturday, head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Maksym Kozytskyi said on Facebook.
Two missile strikes hit the city at about 4:30 p.m. local time (1430 GMT), and residential buildings were not affected, Kozytskyi said, adding that the threat of new attacks on the city persists.
The information has not yet been verified by the Russian side.
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Russia's armed forces destroyed an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian troops in the Zhytomyr region with Kalibr cruise missiles, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Saturday.
In total, 271 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,627 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 167 multiple launch rocket systems, 669 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,474 units of special Ukrainian military vehicles have been destroyed during the military operation, according to the ministry.
