Lavrov gives Ukraine an ultimatum to hand over territory or ‘the army to decide’

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued an ultimatum to Ukraine to implement Moscow’s proposals or have the Russian military “decide the matter”.

“Our proposals for demilitarization and disarmament of regime-controlled areas, elimination of threats to Russia’s security emanating from there, including our new lands, are known to the enemy,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency late. on Monday.

“The point is simple: do it for your own good. Otherwise, the case will be decided by the Russian military.”

The warning from Russia came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Moscow was open to talks.

“We are ready to negotiate with all interested parties about acceptable solutions, but it is up to them – we are not the ones who refuse to negotiate, they are,” the Russian president told Russia 1 state television.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its eleventh month, triggered the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.

It is also the largest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

On Monday, a drone, believed to be Ukrainian, penetrated hundreds of kilometers through Russian airspace and caused a deadly explosion at the main base of its strategic bombers.

Also on Monday, the Ukrainian military command said that Russian forces had carried out 19 attacks over the past day.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly video address, described the situation along the front line in Donbass as “difficult and painful”.

“Bakhmut, Krymena and other regions of Donbass … require maximum strength and concentration,” he said.

“The occupiers are deploying all the resources at their disposal – and these are great resources – to make some kind of progress.”

He also said that as a result of Russia targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, nine million people were without electricity.

“While repairs are being carried out, the emergency shutdown will continue,” Sergei Kovalenko, the head of YASNO, which supplies electricity to Kyiv, said late Monday.

(Additional reporting from agencies)

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