Since May 20, the number of drones launched by the Ukrainian Army into Donbass and Russian territory has almost doubled. Russian authorities report 788 drones and missiles targeting Russian territory, which struck victims among the civilian population. In a Russian Foreign Ministry statement, those attacks “were carried out in an attempt to thwart direct Russia-Ukraine talks facilitated by the U.S. Administration, which are designed to settle the conflict definitively. They also appear intended to derail the implementation of initial agreements reached in Istanbul on May 16, including a massive prisoner exchange.”
In a press conference May 23, Sergey Lavrov was more explicit: “We believe these attacks are a direct result of the support provided to Ukrainian Nazis, primarily by a number of European countries, led by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the EU leadership.”
Asked by journalists about the visit to Kiev by Starmer, Macron, Merz and Kallas, Lavrov answered: “Those sustaining the Kiev regime, including the figures you mentioned, don’t conceal their role. It’s not accidental that while we pursue a resolution via addressing the root causes of the conflict, they run amok demanding an immediate ceasefire without preconditions. That stance allows them to continue flooding Kiev with weapons.
“Their public statements indicate they’re not prepared to change course which only fuels the conflict and emboldens Zelenskyy and his team to carry on with their criminal activities.
“There certainly is a degree of European responsibility involved. I think that when the conflict is finally resolved, and its outcomes are assessed, it will be difficult for those backing Kiev to avoid accountability.”
