Lavrov defends Russia's "special military operation" and blames NATO expansion

Sergey Lavrov criticized actions he said were taken to "constrain Russia," arguing they have "destroyed the European security system" and accused Western states of supplying weapons to Kyiv that target civilians and infrastructure. He said these policies have fostered a hostile regime in Kiev and framed Western support as seeking Russia's strategic defeat.

Lavrov reiterated that in 2022 Russia began "a special military operation to protect people in Donbas and Novarosia" and said Russia would "achieve" the objectives of the operation and eliminate threats to its security. He accused some European governments of tolerating what he called the glorification of Nazism in Ukraine and criticized votes against Russia's draft resolutions on the matter.