“The operation continues. the goals are achieved. Substantial work is being done both through the army in promoting the operation and through it [peace] “negotiators are in the process of negotiating with their Ukrainian counterparts,” Dmitry Peshkov told reporters, according to several media outlets.
Asked about the timetable for such completion, Peshkov said: “We are talking about the foreseeable future.”
The comments are sure to be taken seriously by Western and Ukrainian leaders, who last week often warned that Moscow was preparing for an attack in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Russia indicated its shift to Donbass earlier this month after failing to quickly occupy the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, when it launched its offensive in the former Soviet Union on February 24.
U.S. officials have since seen Moscow withdraw its troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv to the north, but said the move was believed to be a repositioning rather than a real withdrawal.
Peshkov separately acknowledged this week that Russia had “significant troop losses” in the battle, a rare admission by Moscow of the difficulties Russia faced in invading.
It is not clear how many Russian soldiers have been killed in the fighting, although the Pentagon has made a conservative estimate of 7,000.
Ukrainian officials have suggested that the number is more than double the total.
