Lavrov Accuses Europe and UK of Waging War on Russia Over Arms to Ukraine
Sergey Lavrov said Europe and the UK are waging a war against Russia, pointing to Western weapons supplied to Ukraine that Moscow shoots down.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Europe and the United Kingdom of waging a war against Russia, arguing that Western-supplied weapons reaching Ukraine are being used to strike his country.
Speaking on Tuesday, Lavrov was asked whether Russia was itself engaged in a "hybrid war" against Europe. He turned the question back on the journalist, asking whether the drones and missiles that Britain and continental Europe supply to Ukraine — and that Russia subsequently destroys — were the kind of hybrid war being referred to.
"If you acknowledge that our country is being struck by your weapons, and that we shoot them down, then call it whatever you like," Lavrov said. "But I have absolutely no doubt that this is a war Europe is waging against us."
He added that Moscow had been making this assessment "for a long time."
The remarks were made during an exchange with a British journalist and reflect the Kremlin's long-standing position that Western military support for Ukraine makes European states parties to the conflict. No new policy measures or diplomatic steps were announced in the comments.