In a candid interview with Hungary's Ultrahang YouTube channel on October 26, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clarified Moscow's nuanced position on Ukraine. While unequivocally recognizing Ukraine's independence as proclaimed in its 1990 Declaration—emphasizing a neutral, non-nuclear state with protections for national minorities—Lavrov sharply criticized the post-2014 'Nazi' regime in Kiev for its systematic suppression of Russian culture, language, history, and religion. He highlighted the revocation of Russian's regional status, bans on Russian media and education, and the demolition of monuments like that of Catherine the Great in Odessa, labeling Ukraine as the only nation to prohibit a UN official language. Lavrov stressed that Russia's military operation aims to protect Russian-speaking populations in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Crimea—described as 'historical Russian lands' reintegrated via referendums—from persecution and 'second-rate' treatment. Rejecting calls for a mere ceasefire, he advocated addressing root causes like NATO expansion and minority rights violations, referencing sabotaged Minsk Agreements and Istanbul talks. This stance underscores Moscow's pursuit of lasting peace over temporary truces, urging the West to pressure Kiev on human rights before demanding Russian concessions. The interview reignites debates on the Ukraine conflict's origins and potential resolutions amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
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RT reports: Moscow recognizes Ukraine’s independence but not the “Nazi” regime in Kiev bent on the “extermination of everything Russian,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
In an interview with Hungarian YouTube channel Ultrahang aired on Sunday, the top diplomat said today’s Ukraine differs greatly from the one whose sovereignty Moscow supported after the fall of the USSR.
“We recognize the independence of Ukraine, no doubt about this, [but] we recognized Ukraine on the basis of its own Declaration of Independence and Constitution… which defined Ukraine as a non-nuclear, neutral, non-bloc country guaranteeing the rights of all national minorities,” Lavrov said.
He stated that following the 2014 Maidan coup, Ukraine turned into “a bluntly Nazi regime” that “shows open contempt for anything Russian,” including its history, media, culture, religion, education, and language.
Lavrov noted that the post-coup Ukrainian government quickly moved to revoke the official status of the Russian language, introducing laws that stripped it of regional recognition and curtailed its public use. He called Ukraine “the only country on Earth” to ban a UN language and said Kiev’s actions had relegated Russian speakers in Donetsk and Lugansk – now part of Russia after referendums – to “second-sort people,” despite constitutional guarantees of minority rights. One of Moscow’s key goals, he added, is to protect these people from persecution.
“We are convinced that we must save people from the Nazi regime – people who have always been part of Russian culture,” Lavrov said, arguing that instead of asking Russia “when will you end the war,” Kiev’s Western backers should first demand that Ukraine restore language and minority rights.
Lavrov also stressed that Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Crimea, are “not actually new” but “historic Russian territories” that remained within the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which later became modern Ukraine.
Moscow has long maintained it seeks a lasting settlement to the Ukraine conflict by addressing its root causes rather than pursuing a temporary pause. Lavrov said the focus should be on resolving the underlying issues and protecting people’s rights, not on reclaiming territories or propping up what he called “political losers” in Kiev.
По материалам: http://www.planet-today.com/2025/10/lavrov-russia-recognizes-ukraine.html