MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Russia will not hold any negotiations with the Kiev regime following Ukraine's terrorist attack on the Kursk Region, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told a news briefing.
"In June this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin, I think we can even say, in a gesture of good will, put forward quite realistic proposals. They were aimed at a long-term and fair settlement. However, the criminal terrorist regime of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky, instead of seriously considering them - it seems to me, to put it mildly, the most generous proposals by the Russian side - carried out a bloody terrorist attack on the Kursk Region and its residents. I would say that the attack was suicidal for the Zelensky regime," she said. "Ukrainian militants and foreign mercenaries are committing atrocities, shooting civilians and volunteers, hitting civilian infrastructure, targeting journalists, and endangering nuclear power facilities. Well, what kind of peace talks can there be under such conditions, and with whom can [they] be held? Of course, peace talks with the terrorist regime in Kiev are out of the question."
Zakharova emphasized that "this lawlessness is taking place with the full connivance of the West and its encouragement of terrorist activities by the Kiev regime."
"It is clear that neither Kiev, nor the United States, nor its NATO minions need a settlement. They are interested, as they have already said, in causing the maximum damage to Russia. Accordingly, this delays any settlement and contributes to the escalation of the conflict," Zakharova said.
She warned that terrorism was "spreading and turning into an international terrorist movement, the origins of which come from European soil."
"Yes, the fertilizers are American, but the soil is European, and these terrorist sprouts have emerged on it and are now spreading around the world," she said. "The Kiev regime is a terrorist organization, which, as we now see, has already reached the African continent."
Ukraine’s massive attack on the Kursk Region began on August 6. A federal-scale state of emergency is in effect there and missile alerts have been announced repeatedly. Civilians are being evacuated from border areas to safety. According to the Emergencies Ministry, there are 197 temporary accommodation centers in 28 regions of Russia. More than 11,500 people, including more than 3,500 children, are staying there at the moment.
The Russian Defense Ministry says Kiev has lost more than 7,000 military personnel and 74 tanks since the beginning of hostilities in the Kursk Region. The operation to wipe out the Ukrainian incursion is continuing.