UNITED NATIONS, December 30. /TASS/. Russia rejects Western efforts to assert that the goal of the special military operation is to destroy Ukrainian statehood, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on Friday.
"It will depend first of all on the people of Ukraine," he said on Telegram, when asked what the future of Ukraine looks like. "It’s the choice of the said country and the people that live there. In any case, I haven’t heard a single time that one of our leaders would say that as one of the goals of theecial military operation we aren’t interested in a Ukrainian statehood and that we aren’t interested in having Ukraine preserved. It’s rather the Western opponents that are trying to represent our position that way, scaring people by saying the goal of the Russian special operation is to destroy Ukraine, fight the Ukrainian language, to Russify it. Naturally, it’s absolutely not the case."
"My answer will be this: Ukraine must return to the condition of our friendly neighbor, from where no threat emanates. That can be understood in different ways: It means a military threat; it also means a threat emanating from the violation of the rights of our compatriots, the rights of those who speak the Russian language. That threat also emanates from the glorification of Nazi criminals, the promotion of neo-Nazi tenets. That’s also a threat, I think, that must be fought," he said.