One of Vladimir Putin’s top allies has claimed agreeing to any kind of truce with Ukraine “is certain death for our children”.
According to the UK’s ministry of defence, Dmitry Rogozhin – Russia’s installed “senator” in the occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia – warned against any kind of settlement to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a social media post.
He also “boasted of having burnt Ukrainian books and called for all Ukrainianess’ to be ‘burnt out at the root’,” according to the MoD.
The British intelligence added: “These comments are the latest in a long line of Ukrainophobic sentiments by senior Russian officials that undermine and threaten Ukrainian identity and culture.
“There are likely many individuals within the Russian state who retain maximalist objectives for the war, including the destruction of Ukrainian culture, identity and statehood.”
The MoD noted that such a sentiment is at odds with the “alleged Russian willingness to negotiate” expressed by presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov only last month.
However, since Peskov’s remarks, Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into southern Russia, breaching the country’s borders for the first time since World War 2.
It now occupies 1,000 sq km of Russian land – that’s just a fraction of the Ukrainian territory Russia currently holds, around 109,000 sq km.
Still, Kyiv’s bold move has enraged the Kremlin and so far does not appear to have pushed it towards negotiating an end to the war.
According to the state news agency TASS, Russia’s ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov released a threatening statement on Thursday.
He said: “I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision.
“I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in the Kursk region.”
And, as the MoD noted, the Kremlin has been questioning Ukraine’s sovereignty for years.
The UK intelligence also noted that in 2017 Putins said Russia is committed to the “extirpation” of Ukraine’s sovereignty.