Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoygu said on Tuesday that Moscow will not engage in negotiations with Kyiv until Ukrainian troops are ousted from Russian territory.
"As long as we haven't pushed them off our land, there will be no negotiations," Shoygu vowed in an interview with Russia-24 television.
The former defense minister condemned Ukraine's attempts to reach the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), saying such actions are malicious and tantamount to the "height of terrorism."
"There's a significant issue here-the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. We do not and will not negotiate with terrorists. Their desire to commit nuclear terror at the Kursk NPP represents the highest level of terrorism. They aimed to advance and seize the plant, but thankfully, they failed," he emphasized.
Russia and Ukraine continue fighting in the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion on Aug. 5-6, and in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow continues to claim advances on multiple fronts.