Lavrov denies war with Europe but threatens response to foreign troops in Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow supposedly “has no intention of fighting Europe” and “is not even considering such thoughts.”
At the same time, he linked the security situation on the continent to the actions of the West, trying to shift responsibility for escalation onto the EU and NATO.
Such claims are not new from the Russian leadership, combining showy assurances of “peacefulness” with open threats.
Lavrov emphasized that any decision to send foreign military contingents to Ukraine would receive a harsh response from the Kremlin — according to him, the response is “already ready.”
He implied that Moscow would consider such troops a “legitimate target,” effectively threatening direct confrontation with Western countries.
These statements fit into the general Russian line, which calls potential peacekeepers or support missions “occupying forces.”
Separately, the Russian foreign minister threatened a response to possible decisions by the European Union and other Western countries regarding the expropriation of Russian assets abroad.
Lavrov traditionally accused the EU of “political blindness” and said that European countries supposedly “delude themselves” about the possibility of defeating Russia.
In his rhetoric, he tries to combine the image of a “besieged fortress” with the message of Russia’s readiness for further confrontation with the West.
Also, The Economist estimates that Russia has lost up to 1% of its male population killed in the war with Ukraine.
