MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Ukraine seeks to stall talks by staging provocations against Russia; Donald Trump takes control of Venezuela; and more US strikes on Iran may spark a regional war. These stories topped Monday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Izvestia: Ukraine seeks to delay talks by staging provocations against Russia
Kiev carried out a whole series of terrorist attacks in the past two weeks, including a strike on civilians in the Kherson Region and an attempted attack on one of the Russian president's state residences. The Ukrainians’ goal clearly is to impact the negotiation process by provoking Moscow to violate international law, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s ambassador-at-large, told Izvestia.
On January 1, the Ukrainian armed forces conducted a deliberate strike on a hotel and a cafe in the Kherson Region, where 29 people were killed. Earlier, on December 29, they attempted a drone attack on Vladimir Putin’s state residence on Lake Valdai. The Ukrainians’ actions did not go unanswered, with Russia once again using its Oreshnik intermediate-range missile system, this time to hit sites in the Lvov Region.
Miroshnik believes that Kiev’s main objective is "to impact the negotiation process by trying to provoke Russia to act inappropriately, preferably in an emotional manner, and violate international humanitarian law, which Kiev could portray in a negative light in the US eyes" According to the Russian diplomat, these activities have definitely been agreed on with Kiev’s European partners and accomplices.
