06:59Russia: The more long-range weapons supplied to Kiev, the further it needs to be pushed away from our borders - Lavrov
The more long-range weapons are supplied to Kiev by Western countries, 'the further it should be pushed away' from Russian borders, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Moscow during an interview with Dmitri Kiselev, author and host of the Vesti Nedeli program on Russia 24 TV channel and CEO of the international media group Rossiya Segodnya, which also includes Sputnik. The video was distributed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"If we now seek to move the artillery of the Ukrainian armed forces to a distance at which it will not threaten our territories, then the more long-range weapons supplied to the Kiev regime, the further it needs to move away from the territories that are part of our country," Lavrov said.
The top diplomat also noted that "the West cannot calm down" after the annexation of new territories to Russia following the referendums.
On Wednesday, January 25, the German government approved the decision to transfer 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine. On the same day, US President Joe Biden announced that Washington was going to deliver 31 M-1 Abrams tanks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the allies for the decision to send 'modern and very necessary' vehicles and called for deliveries of aircraft and long-range missiles too.
On Monday, EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano claimed that the supply of tanks to Ukraine was not an escalation by the West but 'a response to escalation by Russia'.
Russia accused the Western allies of escalating the conflict, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow supported the initiative to reward citizens for destroying Western-made tanks supplied to Ukraine.
On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova added that any Western weaponry that gets into Ukraine becomes a legitimate target for the Russian armed forces.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
06:59The more long-range weapons are supplied to Kiev by Western countries, 'the further it should be pushed away' from Russian borders, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Moscow during an interview with Dmitri Kiselev, author and host of the Vesti Nedeli program on Russia 24 TV channel and CEO of the international media group Rossiya Segodnya, which also includes Sputnik. The video was distributed by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"If we now seek to move the artillery of the Ukrainian armed forces to a distance at which it will not threaten our territories, then the more long-range weapons supplied to the Kiev regime, the further it needs to move away from the territories that are part of our country," Lavrov said.
The top diplomat also noted that "the West cannot calm down" after the annexation of new territories to Russia following the referendums.
On Wednesday, January 25, the German government approved the decision to transfer 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine. On the same day, US President Joe Biden announced that Washington was going to deliver 31 M-1 Abrams tanks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the allies for the decision to send 'modern and very necessary' vehicles and called for deliveries of aircraft and long-range missiles too.
On Monday, EU foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano claimed that the supply of tanks to Ukraine was not an escalation by the West but 'a response to escalation by Russia'.
Russia accused the Western allies of escalating the conflict, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said on Wednesday that Moscow supported the initiative to reward citizens for destroying Western-made tanks supplied to Ukraine.
On the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova added that any Western weaponry that gets into Ukraine becomes a legitimate target for the Russian armed forces.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.