On February 27, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba called on the countries to arrange a complete financial isolation of Russia.
“We demand that urgent measures be taken to completely financially isolate Russia from all systems, this should apply to all Russian banks, including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Some measures have already been taken, and we are grateful to our partners for this, but this is not enough,” Kuleba said. His speech was broadcast on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
In addition to complete financial isolation, Kuleba demanded a complete oil and gas embargo on Russia.
“Everyone who buys (oil or gas) from Russia should be ashamed,” the Ukrainian minister said.
In addition, Kuleba said that Ukraine was not going to give up and capitulate following the results of negotiations with the Russian delegation. The Ukrainian side, he noted, wants to listen to the Russian Federation and express its opinion accordingly.
On the same day, it became known that the Russian delegation arrived in Belarus for negotiations with the Ukrainian side and stated that it was ready to hold them in Gomel. However, the President of Ukraine in a video message said that Kyiv was not ready for negotiations on the territory of Belarus and demanded a change of site. In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recalled that it was the Ukrainian side that proposed Gomel as a meeting place.
Later it became known that Kyiv nevertheless agreed to conduct negotiations, but on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, in the area of the Pripyat River. Zelensky’s office noted that the meeting will be held without preconditions. They also took a promise from the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, that he, in turn, would not allow aircraft, helicopters and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory to get off the ground during the entire stay of the Ukrainian delegation on the territory of the republic.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. After that, the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout Ukraine. He also said that Kyiv is breaking off diplomatic relations with Moscow and withdrawing its diplomats from the embassy.
Then the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov clarified that the special operation had two goals – the demilitarization and denatification of Ukraine. According to him, both of these aspects pose a threat to the Russian state and people.
The Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, in turn, pointed out that this cannot be called a war. He stated that the Russian authorities are still open for dialogue, but they do not intend to allow a new bloody massacre in the Donbass.
On February 21, the heads of the DPR and LPR, Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, asked Putin to recognize the independence of the republics. The corresponding decrees were signed in the evening of the same day. In the presence of the leaders of the republics, the President of the Russian Federation also signed treaties of friendship, cooperation and assistance.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17, 2022. In the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces was reported, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Ukrainian authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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