Russian President Vladimir Putin told the President of the European Council (EC), Charles Michel, that the Russian Army is “taking all possible measures to save the lives of civilians”stating the reasons for the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin said in a statement.
“Putin outlined Russia’s position on conducting a special military operation to protect the Republics of Donbassa” says the statement, referring to the region in eastern Ukraine, and bordering Russia, where the separatist provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk, recognized by the Kremlin, are located.
Michel and Putin also discussed in detail the humanitarian aspects of the current situation in Ukraine, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported.
In the talk, the Russian president asked the European Union (EU) “to make a real contribution to save people’s lives, put pressure on the Kiev authorities and force them to respect humanitarian law.”
“It was pointed out that the Russian Armed Forces have already declared several times a ‘regime of silence’ (ceasefire) to evacuate the population through humanitarian corridors. At the same time, the Ukrainian national battalions prevent this by resorting to violence against civilians and other kinds of provocations,” the text stresses.
The Russian president assured the president of the European Council that “the main threat comes from nationalist formations, which essentially use terrorist tactics, hiding behind the civilian population.”
On March 3, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations held the second round of negotiations in which they agreed to establish humanitarian corridors, with the possibility of a temporary ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians.
This Monday a third round began, without results being communicated yet.
Donetsk and Lugansk, territories that gained independence from Ukraine in May 2014 and were recognized by Russia on February 21, asked Moscow for military assistance to stop the Ukrainian bombing that, according to both republics, has intensified since mid-February.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” on the territory of Ukraine and the Russian Defense Ministry assured that the military attacks are not directed against Ukrainian cities or endanger the civilian population. , but instead seek to render the war infrastructure useless.
After the start of the military operation, Ukraine broke diplomatic relations with Russia, imposed martial law throughout the national territory, in addition to a curfew in some cities, and decreed general mobilization.
Many countries strongly condemned Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and activated various batteries of individual and sectoral sanctions.
