Post #2944

📰Article by Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert P. Khorev “Four Years of Special Military Operation in Ukraine” Published in The Nation on February 24, 2026 Read in full Key points: 🔸️On February 24, 2022, the leadership of the Russian Federation announced the launch of a special military operation to protect the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine and eliminate threats to Russia's national security originating from its territory. Since then, Russia has been entangled in an indirect confrontation with the collective West in Ukraine as part of a broader global geopolitical struggle; 🔸️Since the West-backed coup in Ukraine brought neo-nationalist forces to power in Kiev in 2014, Russia has been doing its best to find a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis. <…> Had the Ukrainian leadership complied with the provisions of the document it signed [the Minsk Agreements], there would be no hostilities now; 🔸️Incited by the collective West, Ukrainian nationalists chose a military solution to the Donbass issue. Perceiving compromise as weakness, the Western patrons of the Kiev regime have toyed with Russia for eight years while arming Ukraine and turning it into an anti-Russian springboard; 🔸️After years of fruitless negotiations with Ukraine and its Western sponsors, on February 21, 2022, the Russian leadership recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, collectively known as Donbass. This was followed by the signing of Treaties on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Russia and the Donbass republics. In accordance with these treaties' provisions, in line with international law, Russian troops launched a special military operation to protect the Donbass territory from the Ukrainian forces on February 24, 2022; 🔸️Despite Russia's steady gains on the battlefield, our country has always remained open to peace talks. The two sides came closest to reaching a peace settlement in April 2022, when Russian and Ukrainian negotiators reached an agreement in Istanbul. However, Kiev's European "friends," particularly former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, prevented reconciliation with Moscow, urging their proxies to continue hostilities with Russia; 🔸️Europeans' continued determination to throw their taxpayers' money down the drain is astonishing. They have clearly learned nothing from the recent corruption scandal in Ukraine, which revealed Zelensky's inner circle's involvement in embezzling $100 million — just the tip of the iceberg; 🔸️We welcome the ongoing peace process, in which the United States is playing an important role. Russia remains committed to the "spirit of Anchorage" — the mutual understanding reached by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska in August 2025; 🔸️Against the backdrop of U.S. efforts to bring the Russian and Ukrainian positions closer together, Europe's confrontational tactics appear particularly absurd. By refusing to engage in direct dialogue with Russia, Europeans have sidelined themselves from the peace process; 🔸️In recent months, European powers hostile toward Russia have begun waging war on Russia's so-called "shadow fleet." It's important to note that the term "shadow fleet" has no basis in international law, and seizing merchant ships on the high seas is nothing less than piracy. 🔸️Russia is committed to finding a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian crisis and is willing to collaborate with all parties to achieve this objective. A peace agreement to be lasting, it must address the root causes of the conflict: eliminating the NATO threat to Russia's western flank and ending the discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine; 🔸️I would also like to thank Pakistan's leadership for its consistent policy of neutrality in the conflict, despite pressure from external forces. We look forward to fruitful cooperation with our Pakistani colleagues on this issue in the international arena, including the UN Security Council.