(Kyiv) Westerners are “directly fighting” Russia in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Minister accused Saturday at the UN at a time when Kyiv claims to have killed Russian military leaders in the strategic Crimean peninsula.
“You can call it what you want but they are fighting us, they are fighting us directly,” Sergei Lavrov said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
“We call it hybrid war, but that does not change reality,” he added, referring to financial aid, weapons and “mercenaries” from Western countries.
The head of Russian diplomacy, during a long press conference at UN headquarters in New York, was questioned about the involvement of the United States in the conflict in Ukraine.
“The fact that they are fighting de facto against us using the corps of Ukrainians, I think that everyone here who is interested in the situation in Ukraine knows very well that the Americans, the British and others are fighting in first of all providing more and more weapons,” asserted the head of Russian diplomacy.
” Battlefield “
The United States and European countries which have supplied weapons systems to Kyiv since the Russian invasion of February 2022 insist that they are not at war with Moscow but that they are helping Ukraine to defend itself.
Sergei Lavrov was speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly during which, earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came in person to ask for more support from the international community.
He proposed a summit to discuss his peace plan intended to end the war.
Lavrov said the proposed settlement was “completely infeasible, impossible to implement, not realistic.”
Asked about how to put an end to the bogged-down conflict, the head of Russian diplomacy judged that “in these circumstances, if they (the Westerners and the Ukrainians, Editor’s note) say that this must happen on the battlefield, fine, it will be done on the battlefield.”
Before the UN Security Council on Wednesday, President Zelensky denounced Moscow’s “criminal aggression” against his country and the “blocking” of the UN body due to Russia’s right of veto.
Mr. Lavrov had carefully avoided being present in the Council room when the Ukrainian head of state spoke. But during his intervention on Wednesday – after the departure of Mr. Zelensky – he responded that the Russian veto was a “legitimate tool” vested in the five permanent members of the Council.
“I watched it on TV. He seemed rather gloomy,” Mr. Lavrov attacked on Saturday, adding: “I had to do, we all knew what he was going to say so why waste his time.”
Late Saturday morning, during an anti-Western speech before the UN General Assembly, the Russian minister warned that it was in “the common interest to avoid the spiral of a full-scale war.” scale and prevent the final collapse of the international cooperation mechanisms put in place by our predecessors” at the United Nations.
Kyiv launches new missile attack on Sevastopol
Ukraine launched a missile attack on Saturday morning against the city of Sevastopol on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, a Russian official said. This attack comes the day after another attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, damaging the main building by fire and where a serviceman was reported missing.
The city of Sevastopol was under air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted for a time.
Loud explosions also sounded near Vilne in northern Crimea, where clouds of smoke could be seen, according to a pro-Ukrainian news channel reporting developments on the peninsula. Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022.
Top commanders killed in Sevastopol attack
The Ukrainian army claimed on Saturday to have killed or injured “senior commanders” of the Russian navy during its strike the day before against the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea.
“The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and the result is dozens of deaths and injuries among the occupiers, including senior fleet commanders,” the Kyiv army said. She claimed the attack took place “during a meeting of Russian naval leaders.”
The Ukrainian military said the attack occurred while “a meeting of Russian naval officials” was taking place.
Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the attack killed “at least nine people,” including generals, in comments to Voice of America.
AFP was unable to verify this information.
Mr. Boudanov declined to say whether Western-made missiles had been used in the attack.
PHOTO FROM THE CRIMEAN TELEGRAM ACCOUNT VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Ukrainian attack hit the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea.
Russia said one of its service members was missing after the attack.
On Saturday, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol warned of the possibility of a new Ukrainian missile attack.
“Be careful, missile danger!” Missile danger! » warned Mikhail Razvojaïev on Telegram. “Close your windows tightly and don’t go near them,” he added, asking people in cars and public transport to take shelter.
Shortly after, he announced that “the danger is over.”
Mr. Razvojaïev had previously specified that missile “fragments” had fallen on the outskirts of Sevastopol.
The Ukrainian region of Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and the city of Sevastopol, where the targeted naval headquarters is located, are at the heart of the Russian military system for its invasion of Ukraine, both to supply the troops occupying the Ukrainian South and to carry out missile strikes from the sea.
With Associated Press