MOSCOW Dispatches) – There are currently no grounds for optimism about a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis due to Ukraine’s position, and Russia’s special military operation is continuing, Kremlin said.
While there is a trend of growing fatigue with support for Ukraine, some countries, including Britain, are doing their utmost to counter the trend and encourage European countries to continue the conflict with Russia, while increasing their own involvement, including direct technological and technical involvement, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing.
Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s visit for mediation, Peskov said the US envoys were still busy dealing with other areas of US foreign policy and that no date had yet been set for their visit to Russia.
Meanwhile, Peskov said Russia greatly appreciates the efforts of all countries that are genuinely seeking to help resolve the Ukraine crisis.
“There are few such countries, but that makes their efforts all the more valuable and important,” he said.
In Crimea, two people were killed and four others injured in Ukrainian attacks, Crimea region head Sergey Aksyonov said.
Separately, three civilians in the Donetsk region were injured in Ukrainian drone attacks, regional head Denis Pushilin noted, adding that three residential buildings, six civil-infrastructure facilities, two trucks and three cars sustained damage.
The Russian Navy has carried out a successful missile test near the country’s Kuril Islands, the Pacific Fleet has said.
The test comes a week after Japan vigorously protested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit to the archipelago, which is partially claimed by Tokyo.
The missile test, which took place near the southern Kurils, involved the Varyag guided missile cruiser, the Omsk nuclear-powered submarine, and a ground-based Bastion surface-to-ship missile system, the Russian Pacific Fleet said in a statement on Thursday.
They fired several types of munitions at a target simulating enemy vessels at a distance of around 300 km (186 miles), with targeting data provided by naval aviation, the fleet said.
Objective control data confirmed the destruction of all targets, it stressed.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reacted to the drills by telling reporters that Tokyo “cannot tolerate moves by Russia to strengthen military power on the four Northern Islands because they go against our country’s stance on the territories.”
Kyodo news earlier reported that Japan had lodged a protest with Russia after Moscow notified it of the upcoming missile test last week.
On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Tokyo’s ambassador to Moscow to express a strong protest over “anti-Russian statements” by the Japanese leadership.
After Putin traveled to Iturup, the largest of the Kuril Islands, on August 13, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the trip “absolutely unacceptable” and said it “hurts the feelings of the Japanese people.” Motegi also issued a statement, claiming that the four southernmost islands of the archipelago “are an inherent part of Japan’s territory both historically and under international law.”