Russian foreign minister says country's objectives in Ukraine now go beyond Donbas

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that the geographical objectives of Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine are no longer limited to the eastern Donbas region but include a number of other territories, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

Lavrov also said that Russia's objectives will expand still further if the West delivers long-range weapons to Kyiv, the agency said.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, President Vladimir Putin denied any intention of occupying Ukrainian territories, saying his aim was to demilitarize and "de-nazify" the country — a statement dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a pretext for an imperial-style war of expansion.

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After being beaten back in an initial attempt to take the capital Kyiv, Russia's defence ministry said on March 25 that the first phase of the special operation was complete and it would now focus on "achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbas."

Nearly four months later, it has taken Luhansk, one of two regions that make up the Donbas, but remains far from capturing all of the other, Donetsk.

However, its forces have already seized territory way beyond Donbas, especially in the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and continue to launch missile strikes on cities across Ukraine.

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