Russia expands its war aims in Ukraine, says FM Lavrov

RUSSIA,US: Russia’s war is no longer limited to focusing on the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Moscow’s foreign minister has claimed.

The scope of military action has been expanded to include more areas for combat, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

Moscow’s plans – amid what it calls its “special military operation” – could expand even further if the West delivers long-range missiles to Ukraine, he said as reported by state news agency RIA Novosti.

Lavrov’s comments were the clearest acknowledgment yet that Russia’s war goals have expanded over the five months of war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba retorted that Russia rejected diplomacy and wanted “blood, not talks”.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev claimed that peace in Ukraine would be “on Russia’s terms”.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has made a rare public appearance to deliver a touching speech in U.S. Congress, pleading for more air defense systems.

Making specific mention of air defense missile systems, Zelenska said Ukraine desperately needed them “so that missiles do not kill children in their strollers. So that they do not destroy children’s rooms and entire families”. She said : “We are grateful that the U.S. stands with us in the fight for our shared values of human life and independence. You help us very powerfully. While Russia kills, America saves. And you should know it. We thank you. The US, unfortunately, knows what terrorist attacks are and always strives to defeat terrorism. Help us stop the terror against Ukrainians – and this will be our joint victory – in the name of life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness of every person, every family.”

– THE DAILY BEAST