The head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov confirmed that the “special military operation” launched in February was not limited to Donbass, but also targeted other Ukrainian territories. The Russian armed forces have already taken control of some of them.
« Now the geography is different. It’s not just about the DPR [République populaire de Donetsk] and the RPL [République populaire de Lougansk]but also Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and a number of other territories “, declared this July 20 the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, about the Russian military operation in Ukraine launched last February, which had concentrated on the Donbass. The regions of Kherson and Zaporozhe are located in the south of Ukraine.
« As the West, in a sort of, I would say, helpless anger or desire to make the situation as bad as possible, supplies Ukraine with weapons at ever-increasing range […] Well, so that means the geographic tasks will be pushed even further beyond the current line. “, Completed Sergei Lavrov, during an interview granted to the editor-in-chief world of RT, Margarita Simonian.
For the Minister, Russia cannot tolerate the presence of arms in the territories under the control of kyiv, which would constitute ” a direct threat for the territory of Russia or the two Donbass republics.
kyiv prepares the response
Five months after the start of the conflict, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory is now under the control of the Russian army. A large portion of its territory that kyiv does not intend to give up so easily. In an interview with The Times on July 10, the Ukrainian Defense Minister announced that, on the orders of Volodymyr Zelensky, an army numbering no less than a million men would be being set up in the part western Ukraine with the aim of reconquering all the territories occupied by Russia.