The belief that Ukraine can win the war is an illusion

Yesterday, Russia announced that it had taken control of three new villages in eastern Ukraine, considering that the belief that Ukraine could win the war was an illusion.

Moscow continues to press, taking advantage of its numerical and armament superiority along the broad battlefront, but the field gains it has achieved have been slow and costly.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the army captured the villages of Sludki and Noveh in the Zaporizhzhya region, and the village of Gnatyevka in the Donetsk region.

For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that “the Europeans believe that Ukraine can win the war and guarantee its interests by military means.” He added in a call with journalists: “This is the biggest illusion the Kiev regime has sunk into. The situation on the front indicates the opposite,” stressing that the war will not end until “when Russia achieves the goals it set at the beginning.”

Moscow insists that it is fighting to protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine, to prevent the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from expanding eastward, and to oust “neo-Nazis” from power in Ukraine, all of which are justifications that Kiev and its Western partners have rejected as baseless.

They say that the conflict, which claimed tens of thousands and turned into the largest conflict in Europe since World War II, is nothing more than a Russian expansionist attempt.

US President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure a peace agreement were disrupted, and Moscow rejected calls to agree to a ceasefire and abandon its demands.

Russian officials stated that they would not consider stopping the attack unless Ukraine completely withdrew from the Donbass region (east) and refrained from obtaining Western military support.

Kiev believes that these demands are unacceptable and represent submission to Moscow, thus leaving it vulnerable to further Russian attacks.

Peskov stated that Russia is advancing on the front and will not stop.

End the war

Earlier, the Kremlin announced that it wanted the war in Ukraine to end as soon as possible, but efforts to resolve the crisis faltered.

This came in a statement by Peskov, in response to a statement made by Trump, last Friday, in which he said: “I think we agree that the war will end in the not-too-distant future,” during a meeting with the Prime Minister of Hungary.

In a press briefing, Peskov reaffirmed the Kremlin’s position that the war could end as soon as Russia achieves its goals, with a preference for achieving this through political and diplomatic means. He said: “But the matter is currently suspended, and the situation is characterized by stagnation, and this is not because of us,” and he placed the responsibility for that on Ukraine.

Ukraine and its European allies reject Moscow’s accusations of obstructing peace efforts, and no direct talks have been held between Russia and Ukraine since last July 23.

Power outage

On the other hand, the Ukrainian authorities said that millions of Ukrainian residents were affected by a power outage yesterday, following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure over the weekend.

The company “Ukrinergo” announced power outages in several regions, after Moscow’s attack on energy and heating sites before the arrival of winter.

In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message the day before yesterday evening: “Currently, in most regions, repair teams, energy service providers, and municipal workers are working around the clock… everyone is participating.”

He added: “Maintenance work is continuing, although the situation is difficult. Thousands are working to stabilize the system and repair the damage.” In the city of Kharkiv, the second largest Ukrainian city, the subway resumed its work yesterday, after stopping for two days due to a power outage.

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Kremlin: Reports of Lavrov’s exclusion are false

Yesterday, the Kremlin confirmed that Sergei Lavrov is carrying out the duties of Russia’s Foreign Minister as usual, and that reports of his exclusion are false, suggesting that people ignore speculation in Western media that he may no longer be one of President Vladimir Putin’s favorites.

Lavrov (75 years old), a veteran diplomat from the Soviet era, known for his strong negotiating style, missed an important meeting in the Kremlin last week, which he usually attended.

Putin chose another person to attend the G20 summit in South Africa later this month, a role that Lavrov previously played.

Last Friday, the Kremlin denied speculation that Lavrov had become unwanted by Putin, after efforts to organize a summit between the Russian president and his American counterpart, Donald Trump, were halted last month.