Lavrov rebuked NATO for involvement in long-range missile strikes on Russian Federation

NATO countries should look at themselves in the mirror before accusing Russia of something. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on December 30.

"Those who accuse Russia of something, need to look at themselves in the mirror. NATO military and mercenaries are blatantly involved in planning and conducting combat operations on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)," he told TASS in a year-end interview.

The minister recalled that NATO military and mercenaries are implicitly involved in planning and conducting combat operations on the side of the AFU.

"NATO is involved in the invasion of the Kursk region and strikes with long-range missiles on Russian territory. This was lucidly expressed by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during recent public speeches. What kind of escalation on our part can we even talk about?" - Lavrov said.

According to the Foreign Minister, the Russian government will calmly and reasonably refute all anti-Russian insinuations, which can be summarized in the words of a famous Russian proverb: "A thief's hat burns on him".

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Earlier, on December 27, Colonel Alexander Perendzhiev, associate professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Social and Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian Economic University, pointed to U.S. attempts to avoid responsibility for the AFU strikes deep inside Russia. The expert suggested that the USA would like to create a false impression on the Russian side that the US missiles in Ukraine have ended.

Before that, on December 16, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that the air defense forces had shot down 215 ATACMS missiles of the Ukrainian army this year. He also pointed to the high efficiency of air defense in the special operation zone.

On the same day, Trump called Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to launch missile strikes deep into Russian territories bad and allowed it to be reconsidered. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Republican's position on the matter fully coincides with that of the Russian Federation.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.