MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace’s statements about the effectiveness of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine are an attempt to excuse failures in training the Ukrainian armed forces, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told the media on Friday.
"In fact, Wallace is trying to present excuses to the electorate of the Conservative Party for the catastrophic failure of Ukrainian forces and the hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money London has wasted on training the Ukrainian army in accordance with NATO standards and on equipping it with British weapons," Konashenkov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 21 declared the recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics. Treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance were signed with their leaders. On February 24, Putin said that in response to a request from the leaders of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to conduct a special military operation. He stressed that occupation of Ukraine’s territories was not in Moscow’s plans. The Russian Defense Ministry has said the Russian forces were not attacking Ukrainian cities. Smart weapons were being used exclusively against crucial military infrastructures. The civilian population is not at risk, the Defense Ministry said.