Russia’s Defense Ministry has said its forces will focus on the complete release of Donbas, reports Russia’s Interfax news agency.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said it had considered two options for its “special operation”, one in the separatist republics, one across Ukraine. According to the quoted source, the Russian army does not rule out the possibility of an assault on the Ukrainian cities it has surrounded.
According to TASS, the Russian Ministry of Defense also said that the main targets of the first phase of Russia’s operation in Ukraine have been met. Also, writes the RIA agency, Russia will continue its operation until it achieves all the targets set by Vladimir Putin.
Moscow claims to have “liberated” 93% of the territory of Luhansk, one of the so-called People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine. “People’s militia units in the RPL (Luhansk) have liberated 93% of the republic’s territory. Fighting is currently taking place on the outskirts of the cities of Severodonetsk and Lysichansk,” said Sergei Rudskoi, head of the main operational department of Russia’s General Staff. “The people’s militia of the DPRK (Donetsk) has taken control of 54% of the territory. The liberation of Mariupol continues,” he added. Mariupol is the epicenter of a humanitarian disaster, being besieged by Russian forces, which bombed the whole city and killed many civilians, including children.
Putin: Russia, victim of cancel culture, Lavrov: The West has “Hitler like” intentions to Russia
On the other hand, Russian president Putin made new statements on Friday, saying that Russia had fallen victim to”cancel culture” that was “fashionable in the West.”
Vladimir Putin claimed that “Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff are excluded from concert posters, Russian writers and their books are banned.”
“The last time such a massive campaign to destroy unacceptable literature was carried out by the Nazis in Germany was almost 90 years ago,” the Russian president concluded.
In his turn, also Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of “Hitlerist” intentions against Russia on Friday. “Today we have been declared a true hybrid war, a total war – this term used by Hitler’s Germany is now used by many European politicians when talking about what they want to do with the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said.