11:59 21-05-2026

Lavrov Says Russia Still Holds Back in Ukraine

Sergey Lavrov says Russia is not using all military means in Ukraine, remains open to talks and seeks to eliminate the root causes of the conflict.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Shanghai Media Group, SMG, that Moscow is consistently carrying out the tasks of the special military operation, but is not using the full range of means at its disposal.

According to Lavrov, Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained this position more than once. Russia, the minister noted, is not using a number of military capabilities because it does not want to cause excessive damage to territories where people live whom Moscow considers its own and whom Ukrainian nationalists are trying to suppress.

Lavrov said that in 2026 Russian troops have already taken about 80 settlements. According to him, 35 of them were taken in March and April. The minister stressed that the process of carrying out the tasks of the special military operation continues.

The foreign minister also said that Russia remains open to negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement and maintains communication channels with the United States. According to him, America under Donald Trump became the only country whose leadership recognized the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict.

Among those root causes, Lavrov named Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO, as well as the need to take into account and recognize the realities that have developed on the ground.

The minister noted that if Washington is ready at some stage to resume direct dialogue, Moscow would be interested to hear how the American side assesses the situation that has developed after Anchorage. Lavrov recalled that at that time the Russian president accepted the proposal of the U.S. president, but almost a year will soon have passed since the Alaska summit, while Washington’s further logic of action remains unclear.

At the same time, the head of the Foreign Ministry stressed that Moscow sees no progress either in Vladimir Zelensky’s position or in the behavior of European countries. In Lavrov’s assessment, Kiev and the Europeans are becoming increasingly aggressive and arrogant, and Russia will take this into account in its further actions.

Speaking about what is happening in Ukraine, Lavrov called Russia’s actions the restoration of historical justice. He also said that Moscow seeks to prevent Ukraine from becoming a permanent threat to the Russian Federation.

According to the minister, Russia’s task is to prevent the militarization and Nazification of Ukraine, as well as to eliminate threats that may come from its territory against Russia.