Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that after the end of hostilities, Ukraine should be turned into one large “buffer zone” so that there is no “Russophobic, aggressive neo-Nazi regime” threatening Russia.
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One of the hosts of the First Channel show “The Great Game” asked S. Lavrov how Moscow could ensure that military actions would not recur after 25 years.
“Everyone says Russia needs a ‘buffer zone.’ Let Ukraine become that buffer zone,” the minister replied, as quoted by the Foreign Ministry press service.
According to S. Lavrov, if the “Kyiv ruling regime” remains on Ukrainian territory, after the “completion of some kind of military phase,” there will be violations of “human rights, language rights, the right to choose religion,” and such an “outcome” is unacceptable to Russia.
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V. Putin spoke about creating a “security buffer zone” in Ukraine’s border territories back in the summer of 2023. Since then, he has repeatedly stated his orders to expand such a zone, allegedly to protect Russia’s border regions.
Sources close to the Russian leadership told the news portal “The Moscow Times” in March 2025 that the Kremlin is considering occupying new Ukrainian territories – for example, parts of the Dnipropetrovsk or Sumy regions – and later offering to “exchange” them for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
On Tuesday, in an interview with propaganda journalist Yulia Menshova, S. Lavrov stated that the Kremlin will continue the war until the West makes concessions.
According to him, Kyiv’s supporters had many opportunities to ensure peace, but allegedly they repeatedly prevented him from making an agreement. The minister also noted that Russia is currently not conducting peace negotiations, and Western countries should not “worry” about their “new ideas” regarding Ukraine.
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