Lavrov: The United States and NATO should stop sending weapons to Ukraine

By publicly expressing support for the Ukrainian side, NATO countries are doing everything they can to prevent the invasion of Ukraine from ending through a political agreement, according to the Russian Foreign Minister, who calls it a "special operation".

In another interview with the television channel Al Arabiya, Lavrov says that all foreign weapons sent to Ukraine are a legitimate target for Russia.

"The earlier the West reconciles with the new geopolitical reality, the better for themselves and for the international community," Lavrov warned.

Lame negotiations

He believes that the sanctions against Russia must be lifted as part of the peace negotiations, which according to him "are not going well" but which continue over video links on a daily basis.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby on Friday sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin.

- It is brutality of the coldest and most depraved kind, Kirby said about the Russian invasion and continued:

- I do not think we fully realized the extent to which he would use this type of violence and cruelty on innocent people, on non-combatants, on civilians.

Is behind in its schedule

According to information to the Pentagon, Russia is "several days" behind in its schedule in the operation that is now underway in the Donbas region.

This is stated by representatives within the American defense headquarters Pentagon according to Politico.

The reason must be logistics problems and Ukrainian resistance.

According to reports, Russia's goal is to attack Ukrainian forces in the Donbas from north, east and south of Mariupol, but now it is said to have failed on all fronts.

"They would like to be much more advanced in the encirclement of the Ukrainian troops, now they are not close to linking north and south," the informant told the newspaper.

The fact that Russia is facing major challenges is a picture that is also shared by the British Ministry of Defense.

In a status update, it is written that the Russian troops have been forced to regroup after unsuccessful attempts at offensives.

"Many of the Russian units probably suffer from a weakened morale," the update reads.