MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Ukraine seeks to undermine peace talks, and Russian and US lawmakers may hold their first meeting in three years at the upcoming UNGA 80. Meanwhile, Washington greenlights the sale of ERAM long-range missiles to Kiev. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Ukraine is attempting to undermine the peace settlement as it has intensified large-scale attacks against facilities on Russian soil. This past weekend, Russian air defenses downed hundreds of drones, and the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and the port of Ust Luga came under attack. Kiev has increased strikes on civilian targets since the Alaska summit, with the number of daily Ukrainian attacks rising from 300 to 430, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s ambassador at large for issues of the Kiev regime’s crimes, told Izvestia. The diplomat argued that all those were deliberate strikes aimed at causing social tensions and derailing the talks.
Ukraine’s additional attempts to show that it has sufficient defense capabilities and is not being defeated may be behind the increased attacks. Kiev wants to convey its worth to its US and European partners, political analyst Denis Denisov explained to the newspaper. "Any intensified hostilities affect efforts toward peace, and Ukraine may jeopardize peace talks. On the other hand, the parameters of this settlement are not yet clear enough to discuss how such actions may impact progress overall," the expert believes.
