Worse is coming for Ukraine – Lavrov

Moscow is adopting tougher methods in the conflict in response to Ukrainian terrorist attacks, the foreign minister has said Russia will intensify its military campaign in Ukraine and seek to destroy every element used by the West to sustain Kiev’s war effort, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The top diplomat was commenting on actions by Ukraine and its Western supporters that they claim are intended to pressure Moscow into peace negotiations.

Russia continues to seek a “lasting, reliable and sustainable settlement” to the conflict and cannot agree to suspend it, Lavrov told Russian media.

His remarks came in response to a series of Ukrainian attacks that caused mass civilian casualties, including incidents in Starobelsk in May and Gelendzhik earlier this month.

Russian officials, including Lavrov, have described the drone strikes as deliberate acts of terrorism.

Read more Ukraine to rebury another Nazi collaborator The minister said Moscow would not resort to the same tactics, but warned that its response would become increasingly severe.

“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.

We are already doing this, and they are already moaning.” he said.

The minister also reiterated that Ukrainian and Western proposals to freeze the conflict along the current front line are unacceptable.

He argued that doing so under present conditions would amount to betraying both the Soviet victory over the Axis powers in World War II and the broader history of Russian statehood.

Moscow has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian government of embracing neo-Nazi ideology and pursuing policies aimed at suppressing Russian language, culture, and identity in the country.

Last month, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky announced a 40-day “pressure campaign” that included large-scale attacks on Russian civilian vessels, energy infrastructure and facilities linked to e-commerce giant Wildberries.

Kiev has argued that the long-range strikes demonstrate that Ukraine has a viable strategy for confronting Russia and bolster its case for additional Western military assistance, particularly Patriot interceptor missiles needed to counter Russian retaliatory strikes.