ANY agreements that the Kiev regime makes with other countries to secure military aid will not have an impact on the outcome of the special military operation and the situation on the frontline today confirms this, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday.
‘In principle, all these discussions and the results of these discussions are not capable of influencing the outcome of the special military operation in any way. And the current situation on the frontline confirms this more than vividly,’ the Kremlin official said.
He was commenting on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s intention to discuss military support with his Bulgarian colleagues.
Overall, the Kremlin is not surprised by these talks. ‘The Kiev regime is doing its utmost to drag as many countries as possible virtually directly into this conflict. Many countries are already in this conflict up to their ears, both directly and indirectly. It is clear that they will also discuss this subject with the Bulgarians,’ Peskov noted.
Meanwhile, Russian forces destroyed command posts of three Ukrainian army brigades in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on Thursday during the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Defence Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.
‘In areas near the settlements of Stupochki, Viyemka and Zvanovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, three command posts of the Ukrainian army’s 118th territorial defence and 10th mountain assault brigades and the National Guard’s 4th brigade were destroyed,’ the spokesman said.
During the last 24-hour period, operational/tactical and army aircraft, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces struck 86 Ukrainian artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military hardware in 119 areas, the general reported.
A NATO contingent may be deployed to Ukraine after the alliance’s summit due to be held in Vilnius on July 11-12, Vladimir Rogov, leader of the We Are Together With Russia movement, told TASS on Thursday.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said earlier that Ukraine would not receive an invitation to join the alliance at the summit in Vilnius, but NATO countries ‘will find in the days remaining before the summit the wording that will not disappoint Ukraine’ and it would not be a mere pledge to admit it to the bloc after the combat operations are over.
Rogov said: ‘Zelensky’s plans include a nuclear false flag attack to try to push through a NATO summit decision to deploy a limited contingent of occupational forces from Poland and the Baltic republics.
‘It will be the legalisation of the occupation in a format of ensuring nuclear security on the territory controlled by the Zelensky regime. Such a formula is being looked at by the (Ukrainian) presidential office.’
As for territories where such a contingent can be deployed, Rogov noted that Poland is interested in Western Ukrainian regions.
Ahead of the NATO summit, Kiev has intensified rhetoric about its striving to join NATO. However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine cannot join the alliance as long as it is in a state of an armed conflict.
According to the NATO chief, the Vilnius summit will bring Ukraine closer to the alliance and it plans to set up a Ukraine-NATO Council during the summit. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the non-invitation to join NATO demotivates the Ukrainian army.
His office warned that Zelensky would not go to the summit if the NATO leaders ‘don’t demonstrate courage’ on the issue of Ukraine’s membership.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential press secretary Peskov said earlier that Kiev’s striving for NATO membership demonstrates its unwillingness and inability to settle the conflict at the negotiating table.
He stressed that Russia will continue efforts to ensure its security, which includes NATO’s expansion by means of admitting Ukraine and thus approaching the Russian border.
Russia’s response to any Kiev attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant will be harsh, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on Thursday.
‘Russia will continue to ensure protection of the ZNPP and will respond extremely harshly to any Ukrainian attacks on this facility,’ she said. ‘Once again, we call on the UN and IAEA management not to turn a blind eye to the situation around the ZNPP and to say clearly who is to blame for the ongoing events, and who actually poses a threat for security and functioning of this civilian facility.’
Ahead of the June 23rd visit of IEAE Director General Rafael Grossi to Moscow, Ukrainian President Zelensky accused Moscow of allegedly preparing a terror attack at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. Without providing any proof, he notified Brazil, India, China, the US, as well as European, Middle Eastern and African countries about it.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Zelensky’s statement as yet another lie. Rosenergoatom CEO’s Advisor Renat Karchaa opined that these claims may indicate that Kiev is preparing a terror attack or a strike at the ZNPP in order to pull NATO into the Ukrainian conflict.
On June 23, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, underscored that Moscow is highly concerned over Kiev’s increasingly frequent claims of the alleged mining of the ZNPP by Russia. He noted that the IAEA mission, who visited the power plant recently, was able to ensure the absurdity of such claims.
The Ukrainian President will insist that Ukraine be accepted for NATO membership and that the bloc get directly involved in the conflict, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with representatives of foreign and Belarusian media outlets.
‘He (Zelensky) will insist on Ukraine being admitted to NATO so that NATO will then join the war against Russia,’ he said.
According to Lukashenko, Zelensky has finally realised that he will not win the war, and so has gradually started making demands on those who pushed his country into it.
The Belarusian leader noted that Zelensky’s demands would, above all, concern money and new weaponry. ‘By July 11 (the start date of NATO’s Vilnius summit), they (the NATO countries) will be expected to come up with something to demonstrate support for Kiev,’ he said.
‘He (Zelensky) has finally realised that he will not win this war and that this counter-attack will not result in anything for him except for the deaths of thousands and thousands of people. And so he has gradually begun making demands on them (the West), such as money and new weapons,’ he said.
Lukashenko pointed out that even before the onset of the special military operation, Zelensky agreed with Western leaders to ‘fight to the last Ukrainian’ in exchange for weapons and financial aid.
Belarusian President Lukashenko said that some Russian nuclear warheads have already been moved to the republic.
‘A certain number of nuclear warheads have been deployed to Belarusian soil,’ he said during a meeting with foreign and Belarusian media representatives attended by a TASS correspondent.
Lukashenko added that the warheads had not been transported overland. According to him, Russia and Belarus will decide on their placement and deployment jointly. ‘We cannot service them by ourselves, with the current contingent of armed forces. So currently we are doing everything together,’ he clarified.
The Belarusian president added that even if Moscow decides to use nuclear weapons, it would definitely consult with Minsk. ‘Don’t worry about using (them), we are not going to attack either the US, or Germany or the UK. We are not going to attack anybody at all with nuclear arms,’ he said.
He added that the warheads are deployed in Belarus ‘exclusively for defensive purposes. Don’t touch us. And forget about nuclear weapons. However, if you act aggressively against Belarus, the response will be immediate. The targets have been determined,’ Lukashenko cautioned.