Russia must be prepared for long-term military operations, as Europe will not allow the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict in the near future, Russian foreign ministry ambassador-at-large Rodion Miroshnik said in an interview with TASS, the latter reports.

"We [i.e. Russia] understand perfectly well that the Westerners have made a bet on the continuation of the conflict. The Westerners have made a bet on the complete rejection of the means to achieve a peaceful settlement. All attempts to conduct a dialogue are met with the irreconcilable desire of the Europeans to thwart any possibility of reaching agreements.

It is unlikely that this trend will be broken in the near future. Europe will continue to finance Ukraine. And we [i.e. Russia] must be ready for quite long-term military operations, but with a well-thought-out strategy," the Russian diplomat said.