Russia's Operation Z in Ukraine entering new level

The Russian side has been trying to persuade Ukraine's armed formations to lay down their arms for a month already. The persuasions have not yielded any results. This forced Russia to take the special operation to a new level, Rodion Miroshnik, Assistant to the Foreign Minister of the Luhansk People's Republic, said on Rossiya 1 TV channel. 

“A new stage of the operation has begun in Ukraine. When the first Kinzhal missile was fired, when Bastion systems were activated, when other missile systems and military aircraft were involved, we can say that they will no longer spare the [Ukrainian] military,” the politician said.

Russia was trying to persuade the Ukrainian military to come out of the encirclement and lay down their arms, albeit to no avail. 

“I think it's all over now. I mean this is the next stage happening now," Miroshnik said.

Zelensky should be tried as a criminal

Rodion Miroshnik, a representative of the Luhansk People's Republic in the political subgroup at the Minsk talks, called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a criminal and said that it was only accomplices in his crimes who could try to promote him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Earlier, a number of European politicians took the initiative to award Zelensky with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. This follows from their letter published on nobelprizeforukraine website. 

"Zelensky is a criminal who belongs in the dock of an international tribunal where he should be tried for crimes against the Ukrainian people, for the revival and legalization of Nazism, for numerous deaths of civilians, for his policy aimed at destroying both the Ukrainians and Ukrainian statehood," Miroshnik told RIA Novosti, commenting on this initiative.

It is only accomplices who can strive to reward the criminal, he added.

"If European politicians feel involved in these processes, then they may well count on a seat next to Zelensky in the dock, but not on the list of Nobel Prize nominees, for concealing crimes, their support and co-financing," Rodion Miroshnik said.