Kremlin, special operation only way out in Ukraine

Continuation of the special military operation is so far Moscow's only way out of the situation in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, as reported by Tass.

"With no prospects for peace on the horizon, for now there is no other way for us than to continue the special military operation," he said.

The United States is sending anti-drone missiles as part of an experimental platform to help Ukraine shoot down Iranian-made unmanned aircraft that have devastated the country's energy infrastructure in recent months.

The information was reported to Defense One magazine by a representative of SAIC (a US government procurement company that took part in the tender), on the sidelines of the Global Force Symposium of the US Army Association.

On Tuesday, the United States announced a large package of military aid to Ukraine focused on air defense, including what it called "10 c-Uas mobile laser-guided missile systems".

The tender had been launched in January by the US Army,

who was looking for a way to counter the Shahed kamikaze drones.

Russia has used the Shahed to attack not only Ukrainian military forces, but civilian infrastructure as well, causing blackouts across the country.

Ukraine has shot down many of the Iranian-made drones, which cost around $20,000 each, but is sometimes forced to use $500,000 air defense missiles to do so.

"At less than $30,000 apiece, the rockets are cheaper than the largest Ukrainian air defense missiles," said Greg Fortier, vice president of SAIC's Army Business Unit.

The United States has mostly sent existing technology, said Samuel Bendett of the Center for Naval Analysis.

It is unclear whether the United States has ever sent a newly created weapon for specific use to Ukraine.

Statements by Volodymyr Zelensky's office about Kiev's readiness to negotiate with Russia over Crimea are frivolous and divorced from reality: there can be no negotiations over Crimea or other subjects of Russia.

He told RIA Novosti news agency a source in Moscow.

The statement follows an interview with the Financial Times by Zelensky's deputy bureau chief Andrii Sybiha who said Kiev could negotiate with Moscow over Crimea if it succeeds in its spring counter-offensive.

The official also noted that Ukraine does not rule out the possibility of liberating Crimea by military means.

“This is a frivolous statement that is divorced from reality,” the source said.

"There can be no negotiations on Crimea and other subjects of the Russian Federation. The

Moscow used its rotating presidency of the UN Security Council to organize an informal meeting on Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia, defending itself against a charge that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has dismissed as a war crime.

Several countries including the USA, the UK and Malta walked out of the courtroom.

A coalition of more than 50 nations accused Moscow of disinformation during the meeting, which was streamed with the intervention of the Russian commissioner for children's rights Maria Lvova-Belova, indicted by the ICC.