Russia does not plan to occupy Ukraine, ready for talks: Russian FM

Moscow, Feb 26: Russia has no purpose of occupying Ukraine and Moscow is ready to hold negotiations straight after the Ukrainian forces "lay down their arms," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. "Russia will ensure the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. We have suffered too much from Nazism, and the Ukrainian people suffered too much to just turn a blind eye to all this," Lavrov added on Friday during a press conference.

No one will abuse the Ukrainian soldiers, who can return to their families after ending hostilities, he said. Russia has always been in favour of talks and there is still a chance for dialogue on Russia's security concerns, according to Lavrov. "We have always advocated a diplomatic solution. It was Russia that played a decisive role in laying a reliable foundation for a diplomatic solution, the Minsk agreements," the Minister added.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised "a special military operation" in Donbas, and Ukraine confirmed that military installations across the country were under attack, Xinhua news agency reported. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday said the Russian Armed Forces have disabled 118 military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.