Lavrov: Area of Russian Military Operation Expanded Beyond Donbass | Farsnews Agency

The geographical area of the Russian military operation in Ukraine has changed and expanded beyond Donbass due to Kiev receiving the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and other weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik and RT.

According to Lavrov, the area of operation was different during first Moscow-Kiev negotiations held in Turkey in late March.

"Now the geography is different. It is far from being only the DPR and LPR [Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics], it is also the Kherson Region, the Zaporozhye region and a number of other territories, and this process continues, and continues consistently and persistently," Lavrov said.

The minister added that the area of the operation will expand even further if the West continues supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons, including HIMARS.

"Because we cannot allow the part of Ukraine that [President Volodymyr] Zelensky controls or whoever replaces him will have weapons that will pose a direct threat to our territory and the territory of those republics that have declared their independence, those who want to define their future themselves," Lavrov said.

The US and UK want to escalate the Russia-Ukraine conflict into a larger confrontation between Moscow and Europe, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“Our US and British colleagues… with the support from the Germans, Poles, and the Baltic states, very much want to make this war a real war, pitting Russia against European countries,” Lavrov said, speaking to RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan.

The Western governments are “literally holding Ukraine back from any constructive steps” towards a peace settlement, Lavrov argued. They are not only “flooding” the country with weapons, but “forcing” Ukraine to use them more brazenly ,he added.