Russian advances in recent weeks have been incremental, amid reports that its forces suffered high numbers of casualties. Lavrov’s comments came after Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu ordered a resumption of the offensive in the east and south, ending a brief operational pause following the capture of the Luhansk region. Novorossiya, or New Russia, was the name given to southern Ukraine following its conquest and rule by Russia in 1764-1918, and includes the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia.
Western Ukraine, Girkin suggested, could be annexed by Belarus. Such a move would entail annexing all of eastern and southern Ukraine. Lavrov’s remarks are more in line with the Kremlin’s pro-war critics, who say Putin has bided his time before expanding Russia’s war aims.Ī day before Lavrov’s interview was published, Igor Girkin, a former military commander who was involved in fomenting the Donetsk and Luhansk uprisings in 2014, wrote in favour of “the reunification of Novorossiya with the Russian federation along the line Kharkiv-Dnipropetrovsk-Kryvyi Rih-Mykolaiv-Odesa (all inclusive)”. Offenders can be punished with deportation to Russia. Moscow’s most recent decree extends Russian censorship law to the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, criminalising criticism of Russia. The Russian-installed government reportedly plans to introduce the Russian curriculum in local schools. In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree simplifying the process for residents in the Russian-held areas of those regions to apply for Russian passports and citizenship. “It is not only about the DNR and LNR,” said Lavrov, referring to the regions by the acronyms of their self-proclaimed people’s republics, “but also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhia region, and also other territories,” he said.Īfter Russian forces withdrew from areas around Kyiv on March 25, Lavrov had said that the “special military operation” in Ukraine was over and Russia would focus on the two eastern regions.īut Russian forces have continued to occupy parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions in southern Ukraine, which they seized early in the war, and escalate the “Russification” of the regions amid fears that Moscow is planning for annexation. In an interview published by Russian state news agency Ria Novosti on Wednesday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia had departed from its shrunken official goal of occupying the two eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which together comprise the Donbas region.
Russia appeared to expand its territorial ambitions in the 21st week of its war on Ukraine, as it resumed the offensive in the eastern Donetsk region and received some rare international support for what it calls a “special military operation”.
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