Holding peace talks with Ukraine made no sense right now says Russia, as Moscow signals plans to widen its military offensive to go beyond the eastern Donbas region.
If the West, out of "impotent rage" or desire to aggravate the situation further, kept pumping Ukraine with long-range weapons such as the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems , "that means the geographical tasks will extend still further from the current line", Mr Lavrov said.
Russia could not allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "or whoever replaces him" to threaten its territory or that of the DPR and LPR with the longer-range systems, he said — referring casually, and without any evidence, to the possibility that the Ukrainian leader might not remain in power. Russia has threatened to expand its "special military operation" in Ukraine, while applying pressure on the EU through its gas monopoly.
As an emergency response, the European Union advised member states on Wednesday to cut gas usage by 15 per cent until March, compared with their average consumption in the same period in 2016-2021.
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