The United States and its NATO allies together with Ukraine want to defeat Russia “on the battlefield” in order to destroy it, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, APA reports citing Reuters.
“The actions of the countries of the collective West and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy under their control confirm the global nature of the Ukrainian crisis,” Lavrov said.
“It is no secret to anyone that the strategic goal of the United States and its NATO allies is to defeat Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism for significantly weakening or even destroying our country.”
President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a “special operation” to “denazify” and demilitarise Ukraine, which he said was a threat to Russia. Kyiv and its Western allies say Moscow’s invasion was merely an imperialist land grab.
The coalition of countries opposing Russia’s invasion in Ukraine – from NATO members to U.S. allies such as Japan and Australia – has proven resilient, defying predictions that rising energy prices in part caused by the war could fracture the grouping.
Like most senior Russian officials, Lavrov has over the last decade adopted an increasingly hawkish position, supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and railing against what he and Putin have called the West’s attempts to constrain Russia and dominate global affairs.