Ukraine invasion entering ‘new stage,’ top Putin diplomat says

By AP 19 April 2022, 2:58 pm

Edit

The Russian foreign minister says that Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine is entering a new stage.

Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Indian television broadcast Tuesday that “the operation is continuing, and another phase of this operation is starting now.”

Lavrov’s statement follows Ukrainian statements that Russia on Monday launched an offensive in the country’s eastern industrial heartland, Donbas. Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years in the mostly Russian-speaking region and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Moscow.

Lavrov emphasized that the Russian operation is aimed at the “full liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics.”