Russia’s war aims have expanded beyond east Ukraine in response to the supply of longer-range Western weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
In an interview with Russian state media, he said that the “geography is different now”, because Ukraine has access to weapons that can fire missiles over a longer distance.
Russia would now have to push Ukrainian forces further from the front line to ensure its own security, he said.
“We cannot allow the part of Ukraine controlled by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky… to possess weapons that would pose a direct threat to our territory.”
The West has supplied Ukraine with increasingly powerful weapons since Russia’s invasion began, including the long-range Himars missile system which has brought Ukraine some success.
For two days running, Ukrainian forces have used the US-supplied weapon to hit a key strategic bridge in occupied Kherson, according to reports.
Source: CNN