Post #2991

🎙Briefing by Ambassador Albert P. Khorev on the situation in and around Ukraine(March 17, 2026) Read in full Key points: 🔸️Russia views the conflict in Ukraine not as a standoff between Russia and Ukraine, but rather as an indirect confrontation with the “collective West,” which refuses to accept the loss of a world order based on colonial principles and Western dominance. The outcome of the conflict will influence the global balance of power for years to come; 🔸️The situation along the front line is favorable for Russian forces. As Ukrainian militants lose ground on the battlefield, they are resorting more frequently to terrorist acts and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. One of the most notorious attacks was the Ukrainian army’s shelling of the Russian city of Bryansk on March 10 of this year with British "Storm Shadow" missiles; 🔸️The number of Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory increased by 42,000 in 2025, exceeding 130,000 in total. As a result of these attacks in 2025, at least 1,065 people, including 293 children, were killed; 🔸️Nevertheless, Russia remains open to finding a negotiated solution to the crisis. Three rounds of trilateral peace talks have already taken place in 2026, some progress has been made on the humanitarian front. To achieve the settlement Kiev must accept the will of the people of Donbass and withdraw its troops from the entire region; 🔸️Russia opposes a ceasefire that does not address the root causes of the crisis; 🔸️In the context of peacefully resolving the Ukrainian crisis, Russia continues to be guided by the specific understanding reached during the meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Anchorage in August of 2025; 🔸️We regret the United States' lack of an official response to Russia’s initiative to voluntarily uphold the quantitative limits of the New START. The Russian Federation remains ready to take decisive military-technical measures to counter potential additional threats to the national security. At the same time, our country remains open to seeking politico-diplomatic ways to comprehensively stabilize the strategic situation on the basis of equal and mutually beneficial dialogue solutions; 🔸️ Any mechanisms involving the direct or indirect unauthorized use of the Bank of Russia’s assets are illegal and violate international law. In particular, they infringe upon the principles of sovereign immunity of assets; 🔸️ In the context of the West’s efforts to demonize Russia, significant attention has been focused on the so-called “children’s issue.” During the Russian-Ukrainian talks in June 2025 Ukrainian representatives provided the Russian delegation with a list of only 339 Ukrainian minors who had lost contact with their parents. Russia has taken the necessary steps, and as of early March 2026, 13 minors from the “List of 339” had already been reunited with their families; 🔸️ The International Court of Justice refused to recognize Russia as an “aggressor state” and rejected Ukraine’s claims that the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics are “terrorist organizations.” The court noted that Russia had faithfully fulfilled its obligations to combat terrorist financing and deemed Ukraine’s claims to be purely political; 🔸️One of the most egregious recent acts of terrorism in neutral waters occurred on March 3 of this year when Ukrainian naval and aerial drones attacked the Russian LNG tanker “Arctic Metagaz” in the central Mediterranean. Attacking a civilian commercial vessel constitutes a gross violation of international law. It is both a terrorist act and a war crime; 🔸️Despite enormous external pressure, our Pakistani colleagues have maintained a balanced and consistent stance on the Ukrainian conflict. We hope Pakistan will join us in drafting the Eurasian Charter on Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century – a strategic document, which is intended to establish the political and legal foundation for an indivisible continental security architecture and a system of cooperation across Eurasia.