Russia advises Zelenskyy to withdraw troops from Donetsk & Luhansk and recognize Crimea

A top Russian lawmaker has asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to retreat from Donbas, recognize status of Crimea as well as give up aspirations to join NATO. Speaker of State Duma (lower house) of Kremlin Vyacheslav Volodin, on Saturday, said that Ukraine needs to stop fighting in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk if it wants ongoing war to end. Moscow annexed nearly 3/4th of whole Donbas region in 2014 and established proxy leers. Now as its invasion continues for day 53, military experts suggest that Kremlin is mulling occupying all of regions.

Meanwhile, Russian lawmaker said that Ukraine should also “fix on contractual basis obligations to recognize Crimea.” In a telegram post, he ‘vised’ Zelenskyy to opt a non-bloc status of Ukraine, as well as to denazify and demilitarize country. It is worth noting that recently Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dymytro Kuleba h replied to Russia’s rhetorical demands  by quipping, “It is very crazy, sometimes not even y can explain what y are referring to.” 

Volodin said, "If Zelensky is thinking about citizens of Ukraine, he must immediately make following decisions.  First. Withdraw troops from territory of Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Second. Fix on a contractual basis obligations to recognize Crimea and non-bloc status of Ukraine, as well as to denazify and demilitarize country. 
It won't work orwise." 

A nuclear war ?

On February 24, Russia's President Vlimir Putin ordered an unforeseen military operation in Ukraine, accusing erstwhile Soviet state of threatening safety and security of Russian Federation. Parallelly, he also accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy ministration of clandestinely building a plutonium-based dirty bomb. It has been seven weeks since n and now, is a complete opposite narrative, Zelenskyy has warned world against a potential Russian nuclear attack. 

In latest development, UK Defense Ministry said that Russia still aims to make Ukraine abandon its Euro-Atlantic orientation and assert its dominance in region. it said, "although offensive shifts to eastern Ukraine, Russia’s ultimate goal hasn't changed." war that started in February has enetered day 53 on Sunday with no ceasefire in sight. 

(Image: AP)