Russian Foreign Minister: "Russia Has Never Invaded Ukraine... It's Only a Special Military Operation"

"NATO Bringing Ukraine In Is a Crime"

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister. / Photo by TASS Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Russia's Foreign Minister claimed in an interview with Western media that "Russia did not invade Ukraine."

On the 16th (local time), Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, stated in an interview with the British BBC that "there was no other way to explain to the West that bringing Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a 'criminal act,' which is why the special military operation was declared."

Russia refers to the conflict with Ukraine not as a 'war' but as a 'special military operation.' The logic is that since it is not a war, it is not an invasion either.

Minister Lavrov argued, "Why do Western media not pay attention to the suffering of ethnic Russians living in Ukraine?" and claimed, "There are Nazis in Ukraine, and they must be eliminated."

He said that Ukraine committed a massacre of ethnic Russians in the eastern Donbas region. The Donbas area is home to many pro-Russian residents who have organized rebel groups and are conducting separatist movements to break away from Ukrainian rule. The fighting between the Ukrainian government forces trying to suppress them and the rebels began long ago and is still ongoing.

Minister Lavrov expressed "deep regret" regarding the official UN report stating that Russian forces caused the deaths of 10 Ukrainian residents in an underground shelter in a Ukrainian village.

Earlier, the UN released a report on the 8th day of the conflict stating that Russian forces had forced 360 residents, including 74 children, into a school basement in Yahidne, a city near Kyiv. Among those trapped in the basement at that time, 12 died due to lack of oxygen and starvation.

Meanwhile, regarding the assessment that the separatists' death sentence for two British prisoners of war captured while fighting in the Donbas battle is not unrelated to Russia, Minister Lavrov said, "I have no interest in the West's perspective." He added, "According to international law, mercenaries are not recognized as combatants," and "It is a matter for the court to decide."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.