Russia Says Talks Can Begin but Bombing Won't Stop

Minister argues that the West has made Ukraine a threat to Russian security
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 3, 2022 5:59 AM CST
Russia Says It's Ready to Talk, Won't Stop Bombing
A woman cries in the small basement of a house crowded with people seeking shelter from Russian airstrikes, outside the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 2, 2022.   (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Russia’s foreign minister says that Moscow is ready for talks to end the fighting in Ukraine but will continue to press its effort to destroy Ukraine’s military infrastructure. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian delegation submitted its demands to Ukrainian negotiators earlier this week and is now waiting for Kyiv’s response in talks set for Thursday, the AP reports. Lavrov argued that the West has continuously armed Ukraine, trained its troops, and built up bases there to turn Ukraine into a bulwark against Russia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday that his country was ready for talks to resume, but he noted that Russia’s demands hadn’t changed and that he wouldn’t accept any ultimatum.

Russia has stepped up its shelling of Ukrainian cities and the United Nations says more than a million refugees have fled the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said peace talks can't make progress until the bombing stops. In a video address to the nation early Thursday, Zelensky called on Ukrainians to keep up their resistance, but didn’t comment on whether the Russians have seized any cities. "They will have no peace here,” Zelenskyy said, calling on the Russian soldiers to “go home” and describing them as "confused children who have been used." He said the fighting is taking a toll on the morale of Russian soldiers, who "go into grocery stores and try to find something to eat."

(More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

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