Lavrov Claims the Geographic Expansion of the Ukrainian War Tasks

The Russian foreign minister threatened that the ‘geographic tasks’ of the war in Ukraine will expand if the West supplies Kyiv with long-range weapons. Already now they are not limited to Donbas, the minister said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the ‘geographical objectives’ of the war in Ukraine have changed: they are no longer limited to the separatist self-proclaimed ‘people’s republics’ of Donbass, but extend to other territories as well. He said this on Wednesday, July 20, in an interview with RIA Novosti and RT. “Now the geography is different,” the Russian Foreign Minister said. “There is also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and a number of other territories, and this process continues.” At the same time, Lavrov threatened that if Western countries supply Ukraine with long-range weapons, the geographical scope of military actions will move even further away. The day before, John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the US National Security Council, outlined US intelligence that Russia was preparing the ground for the annexation of the occupied Ukrainian territories. For this purpose, representatives of the illegitimate ‘authorities’ are appointed there, the Russian ruble is introduced as the local currency and Russian passports are distributed to the population. In particular, Kirby named the territories around Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and the entire Donbass. DW