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Axios
Axios
World

Russia says it won't stop targeting Ukraine to continue peace talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that Moscow wouldn't stop hitting Ukraine's military infrastructure as a precondition to peace talks.

The big picture: Lavrov said Russia had submitted demands to Ukraine's delegation but added it would see out the war until "the end," per Reuters.


  • Lavrov accused NATO of seeking to maintain military supremacy over Russia and said Moscow will insist on provisions that would prevent Ukraine from becoming a military threat, per AP.
  • He also claimed that Russia had no intentions of starting a nuclear war, despite provocative messaging from the Kremlin over the past week.

What he's saying: "We are ready to conduct talks, but we will continue the operation because we won’t allow Ukraine to preserve a military infrastructure that threatens Russia," Lavrov said, per AP.

  • "The thought of nuclear is constantly spinning in the heads of Western politicians but not in the heads of Russians," he added, according to a translation from Reuters. "I assure you that we will not allow any kind of provocation to unbalance us."

Lavrov also acknowledged a toll on Ukrainian civilians, saying "any military action is fraught with casualties, and not just among the military but also civilians."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with an additional quote from Lavrov.

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