Russian foreign minister: Ceasefire would preserve 'Nazi strongholds' in Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that a ceasefire along the front line would result in the preservation and development of what he called 'Nazi strongholds' in Ukraine.

In an interview with Russia's Vesti news agency, Lavrov added: "If we freeze fire now along the line of contact, it means only one thing: just as the Minsk agreements were signed to funnel weapons into Ukraine, as admitted by the German chancellor and the French president who signed them, they will do the same again and deploy some stabilization forces there."

Lavrov continued: "This would mean agreeing to a ceasefire while leaving the Nazi regime on the other side of the line of contact—the only regime in the world that legally bans an entire language."

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted that the conditions for halting hostilities were set out by the Russian Foreign Ministry two years ago, stressing that they remain "clear" and that fighting could stop if the authorities in Kyiv make the appropriate decisions.