Russia said on Thursday that it was not talking about the "occupation" of the Ukrainian territory, but made it clear that the ongoing special military operation's timeframe would be determined by President Vladimir Putin based on the "results and progress".
In a televised address on Thursday morning, President Putin announced his decision to carry out the special military operation in eastern Ukraine in order to protect people who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years. Putin has said that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.
"Nobody speaks of occupation and in this case this word is inapplicable here, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
He reiterated the two goals of Russia's special operation on protecting the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) that were articulated by President Putin - the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
Peskov said that the operation's timeframe would be defined by President Putin.
The goals were described by the president as the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine. Both pose a threat to our country and our people, Peskov said. The timeframe will depend on the results and progress and will naturally be defined by the commander-in-chief, he added.
In response to a question on the future fate of Ukraine and its leadership, Putin's press secretary said that this is a matter of choice for that country's citizens.
The rest is a matter of choice for the Ukrainian people, the official said.
"You are engaging in hypothetical deliberations. I cannot participate in such discussions with you now, he noted in response to a question on the matter.
Peskov refused to provide details about the Russian troops supporting the DPR and LPR. "I cannot provide you with any military, technological or any other kind of information related to this operation. In this case, it is up to our military, our Defence Ministry to be the source of information, he added.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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