Russia says Ukraine's borders that 'used to be no longer exist, never will'

On the 115th day of the Russia-Ukraine war, the official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, stated that Ukraine could no longer return to its former borders. During an interview with Sky News Arabia, which was released on her Telegram channel on Friday, the official claimed, “The Ukraine that you and I had known, within the borders that used to be, no longer exists, and will never exist again. This is evident".  

These remarks of Zakharova came after several Russia-controlled Ukrainian places issued statements about joining the Russian Federation. Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the Lugansk People's Republic, stated the nation may organise a referendum on joining Russia. Further, the chief of another Donbas region, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), declared that once the Republic's constitutional boundaries are restored, the subject of entering Russia would "become the number one issue", TASS reported.  

Apart from this, authorities from the military-civilian administration of the Kherson Territory, which has been under Russian control since mid-March following the Russian invasion, have repeatedly said that the region wants to join Russia. 

Another region, Zaporozhye, has shown interest in joining Russia and becoming a member of its Southern Federal District, according to a senior official of the military-civilian government. 

Kyiv ordered suspension of Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations: Maria Zakharova

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, June 15, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed that Kyiv had ordered the suspension of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine because of the orders "given by their American handlers". According to a report from TASS, Zakharova said on the occasion of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Ukraine has to speak about "what they did with talks".   

Ukraine had requested negotiations with Russia, according to Maria Zakharova, and Russia had agreed to meet. The Ukrainian administration, on the other hand, imposed a number of conditions on holding peace negotiations with Russia. According to the TASS report, Ukraine defined the location of the discussions with Russia as "wrong" and demanded a change in the nation where the conference would be conducted. Ukraine had even indicated that the "makeup of the delegation isn't right," as per Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova. She noted that Ukraine has not answered Russia's response to its recommendations for resolving the crisis, as per media reports.  

The discussions between Russia and Ukraine, in particular, have remained stalled. The Russian group to the peace talks was led by Vladimir Medinsky, a close assistant to Russian President Vladimir Putin who accused Ukraine of the suspension of the discussions. 

(Image: AP)