The geographical aims of the “special operation” in Ukraine have changed, said the head of the russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov. According to him, russia won't stop just on the so-called “DPR” and “LPR”, it is interested in capturing other territories as well. If the West continues to provide Kyiv with “long-range weapons”, the geographical aims will be extended, Lavrov threatened.
Lavrov stated that the geographical aims of the “special operation” had changed, in particular due to the supplies of HIMARS to Ukraine, in an interview with russian state media, RIA Novosti and RT.
“When there was a meeting of negotiators in Istanbul, there was one geography. And our willingness to accept the Ukrainian proposal was based on that very geography, the geography of the end of March 2022. Now the geography is different: it is far from being just the DPR and LPR, it is also Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and a number of other territories. And this process continues logically and determinedly,” Lavrov emphasized.
Further extension of the geography will depend on the supplies of “long-range weapons” by Western countries to Ukraine.
“Therefore, we cannot allow the part of Ukraine that will be controlled by President Volodymyr Zelensky, or by whoever replaces him, to have weapons that will pose a direct threat to our territory, the territories of those republics that have declared their independence, and those that want to determine their future on their own,” explained Lavrov.
Lavrov's statement echoes with the words of Leonid Slutsky, head of the russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs, that if peace negotiations with Ukraine resume, their terms from the russian side “will be completely different, tougher.”