Amid speculations that Russian forces would use their maximum muscles against the Ukrainian troops before the Victory Day (May 9), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the reports and said, “Moscow will not forcefully adjust its actions”.
According to Lavrov, Russia is not in the mood to wrap up the ongoing “military operations” in accordance with Victory Day, which is also called an anniversary day to celebrate Nazi Germany’s surrender to allied forces.
He said that the pace of operation depends on minimising risks for the civilian population and Russian soldiers.
“The pace of the operation in Ukraine depends, first of all, on the need to minimize any risks for the civilian population and Russian military personnel,” Lavrov told the Italian Mediaset broadcaster, saying that “our troops will not artificially adjust their actions to any date, including Victory Day.” Further, he maintained that the main goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin is to provide security to the civilian population and added the Russian forces would stick to their goal, “until achieved”.
When the host asked Lavrov whether Moscow wants Ukrainian President Volozymyr Zelenskyy to surrender, he said, “Moscow is not demanding the surrender of Zelenskyy but has been demanding the release of all civilians.” “Russia wants to ensure security for all people in eastern Ukraine “so that they are not threatened by either the militarization or the Nazification of this country, and that there are no threats to the security of the Russian Federation from the territory of Ukraine. Our goal does not include regime change in Ukraine. This is an American speciality. They do it all over the world,” Lavrov stressed” he added
