MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. The United States is encouraging Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to avoid implementing the Minsk Agreements, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Channel One on Monday.

"He is unwilling to understand what has to be done to move forward on the path to resolving the situation there, to implementing the Minsk accords. Why is he reluctant to understand it? Because his US sponsors are standing behind his back, holding his hand, telling him completely different things, pushing him towards refusing to fulfill the Minsk Agreements, while destroying his country," she pointed out.

The diplomat emphasized that no one was listening "to the Ukrainian president begging to put an end to the information terrorism" that was harmful to his country. "He tried to explain to them in simple terms that they have destroyed the economy and investment capabilities. But they just don't want to hear what he says," Zakharova stressed.

At the same time, in her words, Europe is standing aside watching it all, unable to figure out what will happen to the European continent.

The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia's potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.

On February 18, the heads of the LPR and DPR, Leonid Pasechnik and Denis Pushilin, announced the evacuation of the Donbass republics' residents to Russia's Rostov Region, citing the mounting threat of hostilities. A number of other Russian regions later announced their readiness to take in the Donbass evacuees. According to instructions from Russia's President Vladimir Putin, each evacuee will receive a payment of 10,000 rubles ($130).