Sabotage of what is happening: Kiev has increased attacks by drones and saboteurs on the regions of the Russian Federation

Ukrainian sabotage groups are trying to seize border territories in the Belgorod and Kursk regions to demonstrate their capabilities to the West, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. According to him, in September, the number of UAV attacks on civilian targets in Russia increased by almost two times compared to the spring. By losing on the battlefield, Kiev is trying to demonstrate its ability to continue the conflict in this way, the diplomat believes. At the same time, Moscow is ready to continue dialogue with Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The United States is also interested in him: Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio are expected to meet again in New York. Washington will continue its efforts to resolve the conflict, despite EU pressure and Ukraine's provocations, experts say.

Ukrainian sabotage in Russian regions

Sabotage and reconnaissance groups of Ukraine are actively trying to seize territories in the border area of the Belgorod and Kursk regions in order to use this fact to demonstrate their capabilities to the West. This was stated to Izvestia by the Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry on crimes of the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik.

— The activity is very high, especially the attempts of the DRG in the frontline zone of the Belgorod and Kursk regions. There are almost constant attempts by Ukraine to somehow capture at least some kind of patch in order to use it as a kind of political reason demonstrating the potential of Ukraine. Because today she is asking for fantastic amounts of money and they need to create a certain winning background for this, to demonstrate that they have the potential for some actions for which the West must pay," said Rodion Miroshnik.

From September 8 to September 14, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out the largest number of attacks on the frontline zone using UAVs — almost 600 per day, Miroshnik stressed. According to him, the number of attacks has almost doubled since spring. In the period from September 15 to September 21, the number of strikes decreased slightly to about 460 per day, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at-large said.

— In the week from September 8 to September 14, we probably had the largest number of strikes on the frontline zone using drones and other types of weapons. The number of attacks on civilian targets has already reached almost 600 units per day," the diplomat told Izvestia. — If we take the spring, the number of attacks on civilian buildings has almost doubled. This underlines that there is a serious tension that Ukraine is receiving blows on the battlefield and, losing, is trying in every possible way to compensate for this by using prohibited methods of war.

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On the night of September 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired 114 drones at Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said. An extremely difficult situation has developed in the Belgorod region, said Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the region. According to him, just over the past day, as a result of the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, three people were killed and ten injured. For example, one drone hit a car in the village of Proletarsky, but the driver could not be saved. Strikes are also being carried out in other regions: as a result of the drone attack, the school building in the village of Foros was damaged, as well as several facilities on the territory of the sanatorium of the same name, said the head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov.

Numerous provocations on the part of Kiev are a sign of its nervousness and determination to disrupt a diplomatic settlement, Oleg Karpovich, vice—rector of the Diplomatic Academy, said in an interview with Izvestia.

— Ukraine and its European patrons are doing their best to provoke Russia into an asymmetric response by getting the United States to impose sanctions against Moscow. Terrorist activity will increase, and our society will need maximum consolidation in these conditions," the expert noted.

Earlier it became known that the FSB prevented a series of terrorist attacks that were being prepared by the Ukrainian special services. In particular, their agent planned to blow up a Russian military vehicle in the Moscow region. And on September 18, three residents of St. Petersburg were detained, who were preparing an assassination attempt on the head of a defense enterprise. They were coordinated by a supervisor from Ukrainian intelligence.

Prospects for a new round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine

Meanwhile, there has been a clear pause in the Istanbul dialogue between Moscow and Kiev. The last round of negotiations took place almost two months ago, on July 23. Then the parties exchanged memoranda on the terms of the conflict settlement and agreed to return at least 1.2 thousand prisoners to each other.

The Russian delegation, led by Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, proposed the creation of three separate working groups on political, humanitarian and military issues. However, there was no response to this initiative. At the same time, the delegations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine are in touch, but there is no need to talk about the timing of a new round of negotiations yet, Dmitry Peskov said at the end of August.

Russia is ready to continue the negotiation process with Kiev to reach mutually acceptable agreements, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia.

— Russia is open to a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict. This approach formed the basis of our initiative to resume direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. We are grateful to our Turkish partners for the provided venue and unwavering hospitality. We are ready to continue the negotiation process with Kiev in order to reach mutually acceptable agreements on the final settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," the Foreign Ministry said.

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Oleg Karpovich believes that there are still opportunities for a new round of negotiations. However, the further course of the dialogue largely depends on the willingness to seriously discuss the settlement terms outlined by Moscow. So far, the option of prolonging the conflict is more likely.

"If the United States does not decide to put pressure on its wards, the conflict will continue, possibly until the complete surrender of the Kiev regime," Karpovich stressed.

The prospects for resolving the conflict will become clearer after the meetings that will take place during the high—level week of the UN General Assembly on September 23-29. In addition to talks between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky is expected. Earlier, the US president visited the UK, where he also discussed the conflict in Ukraine with the British leadership.

The leaders of the "coalition of the willing," led by London and Paris, are trying to convince Washington to join the new anti-Russian sanctions and support their demand for a cease-fire. They partially succeeded: the 19th package of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union has been agreed with the United States, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barraud said.

However, Saeed Khan, a professor at Wayne University in Detroit, doubts the ability of the leaders of Britain and the EU to influence the US president on this issue.

— Trump is just a reflection of the broader point of view of many American right—wingers who do not want to force Russia to cease fire or provide additional support to Ukraine. It is unlikely that there will be significant changes in current policy, with the possible exception of some changes in Washington's rhetoric, the expert believes.

Jeremy Kuzmarov, an American expert and editor-in-chief of Covert Action magazine, draws attention to the fact that the United States continues to supply Ukraine with a huge amount of weapons and supports sanctions against Russia. According to him, Trump does not seem ready to make any concessions to Russia that would allow him to recognize Russia's territorial acquisitions and lead to lasting peace.

Meanwhile, the United States is now focusing on the fact that the EU and NATO do not have a consolidated position, as some countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, continue to purchase Russian energy resources. In this way, Trump is trying to show that his position finds supporters in Europe. Political analyst Denis Denisov believes that the US president may join the sanctions against Russia if he finally loses confidence in his ability to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.