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Russian Armed Forces receive order to advance as Kiev rejects talks - Defense Ministry

According to Konashenkov, the forces of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) continue to advance towards the positions of the Ukrainian army with the fire support of the Russian Armed Forces

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. The Russian Armed Forces were ordered to advance in all directions after Ukraine had refused to hold talks, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Saturday.

"Today, all units were ordered to advance in all directions in accordance with the operation’s plan after Ukraine had refused to take part in the negotiation process," he noted.

According to Konashenkov, the forces of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR, LPR) continue to advance towards the positions of the Ukrainian army with the fire support of the Russian Armed Forces.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later that the Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no threat to civilians.

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