The Kremlin has begun speaking of a new "paradigm" in Russia's war against Ukraine and has come forward with new "conditions," as announced by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian media, UNN reports.
Details
Peskov stated that the war has entered a "new paradigm," explaining Putin's words about the war moving to a "new level," relying on Moscow's narrative regarding the strike in Starobilsk. Recently, as noted by the Center for Strategic Communications, the Russian authorities have thrown enormous resources into convincing the world of a Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on a "college with children" in the temporarily occupied territories of the Luhansk region in Starobilsk. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has detailedly refuted this disinformation.
Peskov also stated that the peace process is "on pause, but this does not mean that there are no contacts with the US."
The Kremlin spokesperson also commented "regarding Zelenskyy and ending the war by the end of the year," indicating that allegedly "the war could be ended by the end of the day," but "for this, Zelenskyy needs to give an order to his armed forces to leave the territory of Russian regions."
It should be added that, as noted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions were and remain integral parts of the territory of Ukraine. Any so-called "referendums," "consultations," or statements by the occupiers, as well as the "recognition" of these illegal actions by third states, are legally null and void and do not create any legal consequences.
Any "recognition" of the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out, directly contradicts UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) "Definition of Aggression," which clearly establishes that no territorial gains resulting from aggression can be recognized as lawful. In Resolution ES-11/4 of October 12, 2022, the UN General Assembly called on all states, international organizations, and specialized UN agencies not to recognize any changes by the Russian Federation to the status of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Kherson regions of Ukraine, individually or collectively, and to refrain from any actions and steps that could be interpreted as recognition of any such altered status.