Lavrov predicts "deserved punishment" for those responsible for escalation in Ukraine

Supporters of escalating the conflict in Ukraine to its limit will suffer "deserved punishment", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on 1 December.

"Apparently, those who are now trying to inflame passions and escalate the situation quite to the limit have not read the statements of the Russian president[Vladimir Putin]. It should be done regularly. You know, we have such an expression - "in impotent anger, from despair." But there can be no doubt that they will suffer the deserved punishment," he told journalist Pavel Zarubin, who published the video in his Telegram channel.

Commenting on the connection between Kiev's strikes with long-range weapons against Russia and the need for a special operation, Lavrov emphasized that a SWO was inevitable from the very beginning, which Putin spoke about in as much detail as possible in his speech.

In a new episode: Putin warned of a tough response to any escalation

At the CSTO meeting in Astana, the Russian president spoke about the launch of production of "Oreshnik" and commented on attempts of new attacks from Kiev

Earlier, on Nov. 28, Putin warned that Russia would respond to aggression from Ukraine by selecting the right tool for each target. Following the U.S. ballistic missile attacks, the Russian army launched 100 missiles and 466 drones at Kiev's military facilities, the Russian leader specified at the time.

On Nov. 21, Putin said Ukraine had used Western long-range weapons against the Russian state, causing the regional conflict to acquire elements of a global conflict. He also said that one of Russia's newest medium-range missile systems, the Oreshnik ballistic missile, had been tested under combat conditions.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.