Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that Russia has by a twist of fate rid itself of people who considered the special military operation in Ukraine to be someone else's war, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Speaking about those who left the country after the conflict began, Lavrov said a large number of individuals who viewed the military campaign as alien from the start had departed Russia.
According to the foreign minister, those who left are currently living in other countries and attending to their own affairs. However, he claimed that many of them are trying to cause trouble for Russia from abroad.
Lavrov said these actions include organising conferences to discuss splitting the Russian Federation into multiple separate states. He added that similar attempts to partition the country had occurred previously in Russian history and noted that Russia had already lived through such challenges before.
Presidential criticism of operation opponents
Lavrov's comments follow earlier statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding critics of the military campaign. Putin had addressed individuals who signed open letters opposing the operation after it commenced in 2022.
The Russian president said that while those critics were quick to sign petitions following the start of the special military operation, those lovers of epistolary art had written virtually nothing following the outbreak of tragic events in the Middle East.
Diplomatic context and official terminology
Lavrov has served as Russia's foreign minister since 2004, representing Moscow across more than two decades of international diplomacy under President Putin.
Russian officials and state media strictly use the term special military operation to describe the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which began when Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country in February 2022.
State news agency RIA Novosti, which reported Lavrov's remarks, is a primary state-owned news organization headquartered in Moscow.
