MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. Kiev has put the issue of peace talks with Moscow on long-term hold by carrying out attacks on the Kursk Region, Russia’s Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said.

"Everyone understands that by carrying out terrorist activities in the Kursk area, Ukraine has, at the very least, put the issue of peace talks on long-term hold," the diplomat pointed out.

"Holding talks with an absolutely delusional opponent doesn’t make much sense at this point. This is what the [Russian] president said. So the question of who we are negotiating with remains an issue," he stressed.

The envoy also pointed out that the reason why Ukraine was using unmanned vehicles to target civilians was clear, and was "part of the Kiev regime’s strategy." "Drones carry out strikes and kill civilians in order to incite fear among the public, sow confusion and discontent and try to provoke turmoil in Russian society," he added.

However, Miroshnik stressed that this strategy is grossly misguided, demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of the Russian people. "These new tactics, trying to carry out this terrorist attack on the Kursk Region, all it does is make [Russians] clench their teeth and do everything they can to punish an attacker who encroached on our people and our land," the diplomat went on to say. "That said, the policy that is being deliberately pursued by [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky is a crime that runs totally counter to international law," Miroshnik emphasized.

On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. Shelling and drone strikes killed 12 civilians and injured 121 people, including ten children. Over 120,000 people have either left or been evacuated from the Kursk Region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost up to 2,030 troops, 35 tanks and 31 armored personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area.