Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Moscow will not agree to cease hostilities along the current line of contact in Ukraine. In an interview with the Russian state broadcaster Vesti, published on 14 August, he also threatened to step up efforts to counter Western military aid to Ukraine, without specifying what steps might be taken.<\/p>\n
Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n Sergey Lavrov<\/strong> He justified his refusal to halt the advance of Russian troops by invoking the memory of the Second World War. He repeated the Kremlin\u2019s propaganda narrative about the fight against Nazism, which Russia uses to justify continuing its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n According to him, the hostilities can only come to an end once a so-called \u00ablong-term, reliable and sustainable settlement\u00bb has been achieved. The Kremlin uses this phrase to insist on the fulfilment of its own political and territorial demands.<\/p>\n The Russian authorities also speak of the need to address the \u00abroot causes\u00bb of the war. Behind this phrasing, Moscow is concealing its demands regarding Ukrainian territories, the country\u2019s foreign policy and its defence capabilities.<\/p>\n The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia would make its methods \u00abmuch tougher\u00bb in order to dismantle what he described as the West\u2019s system of support for Ukraine\u2019s \u00abwar machine\u00bb.<\/p>\n This statement does not imply the announcement of a separate new operation. Lavrov did not specify any timeframes, specific countries, companies, supply routes or other targets to which his remarks might refer.<\/p>\n Aid to Ukraine is channelled through various government, coordination and defence-industrial mechanisms. The statement can therefore be interpreted as a signal of a possible increased pressure<\/a> to support the Ukrainian Defence Forces, rather than as confirmation of a plan that has already been adopted.<\/p>\n Ukraine is calling for a ceasefire and a meaningful peace process. Kyiv acknowledges that the current front line could serve as a starting point for negotiations, but rejects the legal recognition of the occupied territories as part of Russia.<\/p>\n\n
The Kremlin links the cessation of hostilities to its demands<\/h2>\n
The threat regarding Western aid does not include a new action plan<\/h2>\n
Ukraine supports a ceasefire; the EU calls for an immediate truce<\/h2>\n