Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview Sunday that Ukraine “has the right to exist” but added a caveat to that right related to territory.
“Mr. Foreign Minister, let me ask you about something that President Putin said in June. He said, quote, ‘I consider the Russian and Ukrainian people to be one nation. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,’” NBC News’s Kristen Welker said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Does President Putin believe that Ukraine has a right to exist?”
“No, this is not — this is not true. Ukraine has the right to exist, provided it must let people go,” Lavrov responded…
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In 2022, referendums to become a part of Russia occurred in the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russian state media stated at the time, according to NPR, that the regions seemed to largely back annexation in the votes….
( I HAVE pointed out before that some HAVE pointed out that the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in fact HAVE been themselves closer to Russia than Ukraine)
ISW…Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 24, 2025
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov used an English-language interview with a US outlet to reiterate the Kremlin’s explicit rejection of US-proposed initiatives for peace in Ukraine.
- Lavrov continued efforts to mischaracterize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the impediment to an enduring peace in Ukraine, in order to distract from the Kremlin’s own unwillingness to compromise or engage in negotiations on US President Donald Trump’s proposed timeline.
- Lavrov denied that Russia violated past international treaties prohibiting Russia from invading Ukraine and rejected Western-backed security guarantees for Ukraine in the future.
- Ukrainian forces struck Russian energy infrastructure in Leningrad and Samara oblasts on the night of August 23 to 24.
- Ukraine’s Western partners continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, including through the purchase of US weapons.
- Ukraine and Russia conducted another prisoner exchange that included a limited number of Ukrainian journalists and government officials on August 24.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk, and Russian forces recently advanced in northern Kharkiv Oblast
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Canadian prime minister visits Ukraine, leaves door open to possibility of sending troops
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Ukraine on Sunday and left the door open to the possibility of sending ground troops to support Ukrainian defenses against Russia.
Carney joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a news conference on Sunday, marking the 34th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. He reiterated Canada’s unwavering support for the country and announced the allocation of $2 billion in military assistance originally announced at the Group of Seven summit in June.
“We are working through, with our allies and coalition of the willing and with Ukraine, the modalities of those security guarantees, on land, in the air and the sea, and I would not exclude the presence of troops,” Carney said at a news conference.
A local outlet reported that Carney did not make clear whether he would consider troops in a training capacity or as part of a peacekeeping force….
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Former CIA director: Putin ‘clearly’ has no intention to end war ‘unless he’s given additional territory’
Retired Gen. David Petraeus, a former CIA director and former head of U.S. Central Command, on Sunday said he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin has no intention of agreeing to a peace deal “unless he’s given additional territory.”
In an interview on ABC News’s “This Week,” Petraeus said he was not optimistic about the prospects of a meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — for which President Trump has been pushing — and said he does not see reason to believe such a meeting would prove successful, even if it did materialize….
Daily Kos grunt report for Today…..