VOLGOGRAD, July 17. /TASS/. The authorities in Ukraine have been irrational in trying to continue their military operation "till the last Ukrainian standing," Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday.

Speaking at a meeting with veterans, he said Kiev would hopefully realize sooner or later that Russia would have its goals of demilitarizing and denazifying the country attained anyway. However, he said the hope was rather weak, "since their behavior has been irrational."

"The endless attempts to continue fighting till, as they have been saying, the last Ukrainian standing will certainly result in a collapse of the existing political regime, despite their efforts to talk back," Medvedev said.