Russia affirms readiness to fight NATO in Ukraine

Foreign Minister Lavrov said that NATO does not want the Ukraine conflict to end but is continuing to wage hybrid war with Russia and Moscow is ready to deal with this.

"If NATO once again declares through the words of Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that they oppose freezing the conflict in Ukraine, then they want to fight. Let them fight, we are ready for this," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on June 20.

Lavrov's comments came after the NATO Secretary General said in an interview with the German newspaper Welt on June 18 that "peace does not mean freezing the conflict and accepting the agreement proposed by Russia". According to him, only Ukraine can determine the acceptable conditions.

Stoltenberg stressed that NATO is not involved in the conflict, but the alliance stands with Ukraine. He also urged NATO members to strengthen their defense capabilities to protect themselves.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Lavrov emphasized that the West is conducting hybrid warfare against Russia. Hybrid warfare is a term used to refer to a multi-media and multi-front war, from politics, military to cyber attacks, to achieve goals without being blamed or counterattacked.

“They claim that they are not waging war against Russia, but in fact they are doing exactly that. They admit that the conflict would have ended if they had not pumped weapons, provided intelligence data, satellite information, set targets for the Ukrainian authorities. This is an admission that they are directly involved in hybrid warfare against Russia, one might say they are really involved in the war,” Lavrov commented.

"We have long understood NATO's goals regarding the situation in Ukraine," the Russian foreign minister added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visits the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on June 6. Photo: AFP

Russia has long accused the US and its NATO allies of arming Ukraine and using Kiev to provoke conflict with Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the conflict in Ukraine as a showdown between Russian forces and "the entire Western military apparatus".

Some Western leaders are starting to “wake up” to the nature of the conflict, but Ukraine continues to demand arms transfers, Russian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on August 19, saying no matter how much weapons the West sends, it will not be enough if Kiev cannot win.

NATO is seeking to approve a plan to boost defense industry production at a July summit in Lithuania. The European Union (EU), which is part of NATO for 22 members, also plans to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells and strengthen its defense industry.

However, many Western officials warn that NATO and the EU are duplicating efforts, risking adding pressure to defense industry groups already under stress in securing supplies.