We are confronting the West, not Ukraine, says Russia’s Consul General in Chennai

Ukrainians have stationed their artillery and tanks in the cities because they know that we will not strike them in the cities,” Oleg N. Avdeev said.

Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is progressing in accordance with the plan and taking Ukrainian cities are not part of this plan, said Oleg N. Avdeev, Russia’s Consul General in Chennai. “The operation may look slow for an outsider. But it is unfolding according to the plan. There’s no hurry,” Mr. Avdeev told The Hindu.

As the Russian attack on Ukraine enters the third week, Russian troops have captured Ukrainian territories in the north, east and south, but key Ukrainian cities have resisted Russian advances.

“We don’t want to take the cities. Because it will cause great suffering to the civilian population. Ukrainians have stationed their artillery and tanks in the cities because they know that we will not strike them in the cities,” he said.

Asked about the Mariupol maternity hospital that was hit by Russian attacks, Mr. Avdeev said the hospital was taken over by the Ukrainian battalions. “The Ukrainian nationalist battalion forced the staff and patients to leave that hospital and then they took firing positions there.”

He added that Russia sees NATO’s eastward expansion as a survival threat. “We have decided that enough is enough. How long can we watch this expansion towards Russian borders? Actually we are confronting the West, not Ukraine.”

He also said India has taken “a very balanced position” on the Ukraine conflict. “Russia has been a steady friend of India for the last 75 years. The basic tenets of our relationship are strong. And all the attempts of the western sources to prod India into a different direction have so far failed.”