The threat is likely to be prolonged over time. The Kremlin indicated on Thursday that the military operation against Ukraine would last as long as necessary, depending on its “results” and its “relevance”, believing that the Russians would support such an offensive.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that Moscow aimed to impose a “neutral status” on Ukraine, its demilitarization and the elimination of “Nazis” who he said are in the country. The Kremlin also assured on Thursday that it had “expected” that the Russian markets would suffer from an “emotional reaction” after the offensive against Ukraine, ensuring that it was “passing”.
An invasion “dictated by concern for the future”
He assured that Moscow was not trying to organize an “occupation” of Ukraine and that the future remained “a matter of choice of the Ukrainian people”. “Ideally, Ukraine should be liberated and cleansed of the Nazis,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
Moscow accuses the pro-Western authorities in Kiev of organizing a “genocide” of the Russian-speaking population of the East with the help of military units close to the extreme right. The Kremlin spokesman, however, did not answer the question of whether Moscow considers Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “Nazi”. According to him, the decision to attack Ukraine was “dictated by concern for the future” of Russia, which for weeks asked Westerners to promise that Kiev would never join NATO. He cited the “neutralization of the military potential” of Ukraine, which “has recently been strongly developed, including thanks to the activities of foreign countries”.
Dmitry Peskov also assured that Moscow was ready to discuss these demands with the Ukrainian leaders, if they were “ready to talk about it”. He also felt that a “country like Russia” could not find itself isolated on the international scene, despite Western threats. “Of course we may have problems with a number of countries. But we had problems with these states before,” he said.