Lavrov accuses European leaders of using Ukraine as a proxy to wage war on Russia

Russia frames Europe as proxy belligerent

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Europe’s political leadership of abandoning their own national interests and using Ukraine as a proxy in a conflict against Russia, arguing that European countries have made themselves dependent on the United States after cutting ties with Moscow.

In comments to a reporter, Lavrov said European leaders had “traded their own interests for the interests of the Ukrainian regime” and were now openly employing Kyiv in a confrontation with Russia. He claimed that European governments were no longer concealing their intentions and were moving towards direct participation in the war.

“That’s exactly the case with most European elites. They have traded their own interests for… the interests of the Ukrainian regime, and they are actively using that regime to fight against Russia, no longer even hiding it, and are preparing for war with their own direct participation,” Lavrov said, according to a video circulated by the news outlet NEXTA.

Lavrov rejected suggestions that Moscow should be alarmed by Europe’s strategic alignment, saying it was a matter of Europe’s own making. “That’s not our problem,” he said, adding that European states had boxed themselves in by severing relations with Russia and becoming fully reliant on Washington.

The remarks come as diplomatic efforts to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine face further delays. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a second round of talks involving Russian, Ukrainian and US representatives on a US-drafted peace proposal would begin on Wednesday, rather than Sunday.

The discussions are scheduled for February 4 and 5 in Abu Dhabi, although the Kremlin and Washington have yet to formally confirm the dates. The postponement followed unexpected talks in Florida between senior US officials and a senior Russian economic envoy, held without Ukrainian participation.

Washington has said it is close to securing a deal, but significant differences persist, particularly over territorial issues. Russia currently occupies about 20 per cent of Ukraine and is seeking full control of the eastern Donetsk region, while Kyiv has warned that any territorial concessions would encourage Moscow and fail to prevent future aggression.

The conflict began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has since devastated cities and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.