Russia Does Not Seek to Divide Ukraine into Parts, Kremlin Spokesman Says

The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that Russia did not seek to divide Ukraine into parts but only wanted to ensure its own national security

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov Mikhail Metzel/TASS

© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

CAIRO, March 5. /TASS/. Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine is not aimed at dividing Ukraine as Russia just seeks to ensure its own security, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News Arabia.

He pointed out that after the 2014 coup, Ukraine had fallen under the influence of Nazi ideas. "We want to see Ukraine demilitarized, we want to see Ukraine free of Nazi ideology," Peskov noted. "Also we want to see that the neutral status of Ukraine is fixed in its Constitution and we want to have guarantees that weapons being able to change the security balance in Europe cannot be deployed" to Ukraine," he added.

The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that Russia did not seek to divide Ukraine into parts but only wanted to ensure its own national security.

The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, which has been taken under control by the Russian Armed Forces, continues to operate normally, Peskov told.

"The nuclear reactor, the heart of the station, was never touched," he noted. "There was a provocation by Ukrainian nationalists, a group of fighters, they attacked a patrol, Russian troops, so the Russian patrol had to respond," Peskov explained, adding that the situation was under control and there were no security threats.

A fire broke out at the nuclear power plant’s training center in the early hours of Friday. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported later that the fire had been extinguished and no casualties had been reported. Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that a Ukrainian subversive group had attempted to stage a provocation near the NPP, opening fire at a Russian National Guard patrol. The attempt was thwarted but the attackers had put the training center on fire before leaving.