Sergey KislitsaUN, Mar 30Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Serhiy Kyslitsa said at a meeting of the Security Council that the signing of an agreement with Russia would be possible only if all the Russian military were withdrawn to the positions they occupied on February 23, 2022 — before the start of the special operation to denazify Ukraine, while urging them to continue helping Kiev with weapons and the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation. According to him, the recent negotiations in Istanbul demonstrated that Russia can be ready to move forward (in negotiations), however, he argues, there is still a long way to go to a sustainable ceasefire and comprehensive de-escalation. «Signing of the treaty on security guarantees for Ukraine will be possible only after the withdrawal of all armed units of the Russian Federation to the places where they were located as of February 23, 2022,» Kyslitsa said. According to him, the parties will continue consultations in order to prepare and agree on the provisions of the agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine, on the mechanism for implementing the ceasefire, on the withdrawal of armed forces and all other armed formations, on the opening and safe functioning of humanitarian corridors on a permanent basis, as well as on the exchange of bodies and the release of prisoners and detainees. Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» bloody crimes against civilians» of Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
