KYIV, Ukraine — Russia’s foreign minister on Tuesday warned anew that Ukraine must demilitarize, threatening further military action and falsely accusing Kyiv and the West of fueling the war that started with the invasion by Moscow.

Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine must remove any military threat to Russia — otherwise “the Russian army [will] solve the issue.” His comments also reflected unfounded claims by the Kremlin that Ukraine and its Western allies were responsible for the 10-month war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Russia launched the war Feb. 24, alleging a threat to its security and a plot to bring the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to its doorstep. Lavrov reiterated Tuesday that the West was feeding the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia, and said that it depends on Kyiv and Washington how long the conflict will last.

“As for the duration of the conflict, the ball is on the side of the [Kyiv] regime and Washington that stands behind its back,” Lavrov told the state news agency Tass. “They may stop senseless resistance at any moment.”

In an apparent reaction, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that “Russia needs to face the reality.”

“Neither total mobilization, nor panicky search for ammo, nor secret contracts with Iran, nor Lavrov’s threats will help,” he said. “Ukraine will demilitarize the RF [Russian Federation] to the end, oust the invaders from all occupied territories. Wait for the finale silently.”

A day earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview that his government wants a summit to end the war but that he doesn’t anticipate Russia taking part.

Kuleba said Ukraine wants a “peace” summit within two months with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres acting as mediator. But he also said that Russia must face a war crimes tribunal before his country directly talks with Moscow.

Both statements illustrate how complex and difficult any attempts to end the war could be. Ukraine has said that it wouldn’t negotiate with Russia before the full withdrawal of its troops, while Moscow insists its military gains and the 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula cannot be ignored.

Testifying to the hardships of war, families of Ukrainian prisoners of war believed held by Russia on Tuesday said the Christmas holiday season is particularly painful and appealed for more to be done to bring their loves ones back home.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia has revealed the exact numbers of POWs they hold, while hundreds have been released as part of prisoner exchanges. Iryna Latysh’s husband, Yevhen, was captured exactly 300 days ago, in the early days of the war, and she says Christmas isn’t the same without him.

“We were decorating the Christmas tree together this time last year,” she sobbed. “We put the star together, the decorations.”

U.N. human rights investigators have warned that Ukrainian POWs appear to be facing “systematic” mistreatment — including torture — both when they are captured and when they are transferred into areas controlled by Russian forces or into Russia itself.

Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued Tuesday in the Russia-claimed Donetsk and Luhansk regions that recently have been the scene of the most intense clashes.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that Russian forces are trying to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, but without success. Heavy battles are also underway around the city of Kreminna in the Luhansk region, Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said.

In the partially occupied southern Kherson region, Russian forces shelled Ukrainian-held areas 40 times on Monday, wounding one person, Ukrainian authorities said. The city of Kherson — which Ukraine retook last month in a major win — was targeted 11 times, said regional administrator Yaroslav Yanushevych.

Since its initial advances at the start of the war 10 months ago, Russia has made few major gains, often pummeling Ukraine’s infrastructure instead and leaving millions without electricity, heating and hot water amid winter conditions.

Lavrov didn’t specify how the Russian army will achieve its goals of demilitarizing and “denazifying” Ukraine — which was Moscow’s stated goal when the invasion started in February. The reference to “denazification” comes from Russia’s allegations that the Ukrainian government is heavily influenced by radical nationalist and neo-Nazi groups. The claim is derided by Ukraine and the West.

Lavrov warned that further Western support for Ukraine could lead to direct confrontation.

“The risk that the situation could spin out of control remains high,” he said.

“The strategic goal of the U.S. and its NATO allies is ... to significantly weaken or even destroy our country,” Lavrov said.

Castillo writes for the Associated Press.