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- Money is more expensive than persuasion: Western help discouraged Zelensky from contacting the Russian Federation
Money is more expensive than persuasion: Western help discouraged Zelensky from contacting the Russian Federation
Ukraine is escalating the conflict, delaying the possibility of negotiations. The Kiev regime is not looking for opportunities for dialogue after the approval of a European loan of €90 billion, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia. On May 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a drone strike on a college in Starobilsk in the LPR. As a result, six people died and almost 40 people were injured. Meanwhile, the US State Department approved the possible sale of equipment for the Hawk missile system to Ukraine and announced the dispatch of 5,000 American troops to Poland.
AFU drone attack on students in the LPR
The Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on the city of Starobilsk in the LPR, which injured almost 40 people and killed six, demonstrates that the Kiev regime is not looking for ways to resolve the conflict and is satisfied with it. This was stated to Izvestia by the Ambassador-at-large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for crimes of the Kiev regime Rodion Miroshnik.
—The Ukrainian side demonstrates a complete unwillingness to reach agreements and seek a political and legal solution to the conflict," the diplomat stressed. — Zelensky is more than satisfied with the continuation of the conflict. He sees himself only in a state of war. And as soon as the loan of €90 billion was unblocked (the first tranche is expected in June. — Ed.), his desire to negotiate a settlement has categorically disappeared.
On the night of May 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked with drones the academic building and a five-story dormitory of the college of Lugansk State Pedagogical University in Starobilsk, as a result of which the dormitory building partially collapsed to the second floor. At the time of the impact, 86 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 were in the premises.
Seven victims were taken to the Republican Clinical Hospital (RCB) of Lugansk. An 18-year-old boy who was injured in the attack is facing amputation of his arm, Dmitry Kotukha, deputy head physician of the Lugansk RCB, told reporters. Rescue operations are continuing in Starobilsk. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has opened a criminal case under the article "Terrorist act". Vladimir Putin ordered the Ministry of Defense to submit proposals for a response to the Ukrainian Armed Forces strike. It is impossible to limit oneself to statements in such a situation, he said. On the evening of May 22, the President held an operational meeting with the permanent members of the Security Council.
— I would like to emphasize that this is important: there are no military facilities, special services facilities or related services near the hostel. Therefore, there is no reason to say that the shells hit the building under the influence of our air defense and electronic warfare systems," the Russian president said. — No one can say that they tried to hit an object, but the UAVs were shot down by our own means and allegedly accidentally hit this building. The impact was not accidental, it passed in three waves, 16 UAVs, in the same place.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it was aware of the attack on the college in Starobilsk and was trying to collect additional data. There were no further comments. Moscow has initiated an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the tragedy in the LPR. Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzia called on the international community to condemn the terrorist attack, saying that silence would be "tantamount to complicity in the bloody acts of Kiev terrorists." The Office of the Secretary General of the world organization said earlier that it strongly condemns any attacks on civilians.
"Zelensky, in order to please the Americans, makes a statement about how he wants a settlement, and immediately puts forward demands that are generally incompatible with attempts to find a way out,— Miroshnik stressed. — And then they commit literally a series of terrorist acts, the task of which, of course, is to demonstrate categorical unwillingness and desire to violate as much as possible all options for agreements and negotiations on a settlement.
The West continues to sell weapons to Ukraine
The Ukrainian army uses long-range weapons and drones with the direct technical support of specialists from NATO countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry has reliable information that Western capitals provide the Armed Forces with intelligence and help with targeting.
"By committing a crime against children in Starobilsk, the Kiev regime and its curators assume full responsibility for escalating hostilities and undermining political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict," the ministry said.
Europe has become Ukraine's main military donor over the past year. And although the United States has announced that it has stopped transferring weapons to Kiev, American weapons are still being sent to Ukraine. Earlier, the State Department approved the potential sale to Kiev of equipment for the Hawk anti-aircraft missile system worth more than $ 108 million. This is not a final deal yet, but only a preliminary approval stage. Next, the US Congress will consider the delivery, which may block it. However, Washington approved a similar tranche in 2025, despite President Donald Trump's desire to end the conflict.
In early May, the US State Department approved the potential sale of more than 1.5 thousand high-precision JDAM kits to Ukraine. They consist of wings and a steerable tail unit with GPS navigation. The kit is "put on" a conventional bomb and turns it into a high-precision weapon capable of hitting at a distance of up to 74 km. So far, the decision on the sale is under consideration by Congress.
"All this, of course, is different from what it was in the Biden era, because the Trump administration can say that we are making money from this," said Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist. — But Washington continues to show that the negotiation process with Russia is very difficult for it, there is no progress, and therefore they are trying to escalate the situation in order to test the reaction of the Russian Federation and try to strengthen their negotiating position.
There are forces in the United States that are lobbying for the disruption of negotiations, said Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to him, the neoconservatives really want to sabotage the settlement, support the Armed Forces of Ukraine up to the point of sending troops, and Trump is considered a man who wants to "merge" the national interests of the United States and Ukraine. However, the sale of weapons to Kiev also fits into the worldview of the American leader.
— It goes something like this: if we sell weapons and make a profit, then this is good for the American military-industrial complex. Which means it's good for America, too. That is, Trump believes that he is making deals in the interests of the United States," Blokhin explained.
In addition to direct sales, Americans transfer weapons to Ukraine through the PURL program. According to it, the European member countries of NATO (as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand) allocate money and transfer it to a special fund of the alliance. These funds are used to buy back American weapons. All this is coordinated by the Commander-in-Chief of NATO forces in Europe. He collects lists of what is urgently needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front, compares it with the capabilities of the United States, draws up a deal and organizes logistics to Ukraine.
Prospects for a peaceful settlement
At the same time, the American side continues its dialogue with Russia and Ukraine on the settlement of this conflict. Earlier, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that Donald Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could arrive in Russia in the coming weeks. The Russia–USA–Ukraine trilateral talks are still on pause due to the fact that Washington is busy resolving the conflict with Iran. At the same time, the expert community notes that the continuation of the negotiation process remains questionable.
— There were many stages that led to nothing. It is possible to negotiate an exchange of prisoners or bodies of the dead without the participation of the United States. It doesn't even require direct meetings. Therefore, the very expediency of trilateral negotiations is questionable," Bogdan Bezpalko, a political scientist and member of the Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations, told Izvestia.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was skeptical about the chances of resuming a comprehensive strategic dialogue between Russia and the United States.
At the same time, Russia is still committed to the "spirit of Anchorage," which means an atmosphere of trust between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The heads of state held a personal meeting in August 2025 and regularly talk by phone. In addition, in 2025, the parties made progress in those areas where there had been long-term stagnation.
However, the situation is complicated by the ambiguous steps of the United States to increase its military presence in Eastern Europe. Donald Trump said that the United States will send 5,000 troops to Poland, a country that borders Ukraine and demonstrates hostility towards Russia almost the most. Although earlier the White House reported that it was canceling the rotation of 4,000 troops to the republic and returning the American presence in Europe to the level before the start of its military operations.
"The fact that the Americans are still keeping their contingent in the EU shows that they are not able to fully implement their strategy of reorienting military resources from Europe to other, more priority areas: the Middle East and Asia," Dudakov stressed. — Although, of course, the presence of any foreign troops near our western borders is always a matter of concern.
The further development of the peace process directly depends on a change in the position of Ukraine, which is unwilling to compromise with Russia. Moscow has previously stated that it sees no signals from Kiev to make substantial progress in resolving the crisis.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
