Western countries are becoming a party to the conflict in Ukraine by cynically pumping weapons into the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN Security Council.

"Especially cynical is the position of those states that pump Ukraine with weapons and military equipment, training the personnel of the armed forces of this country. The goal is obvious, they do not hide it and declare it: to prolong hostilities as much as possible, despite the casualties and destruction in order to maim and weaken Russia," Lavrov said.

"Such a line means the direct involvement of Western countries in the Ukrainian conflict, makes them a party to it," the Russian foreign minister said.

According to him, the decision to conduct a special military operation was inevitable. "We have talked about this more than once, presented a huge number of facts that show how Ukraine was prepared to play the role of "anti-Russia," the role of a springboard for the creation and implementation of threats against Russian security. I can assure you that we will not allow this to happen," the head of the diplomatic mission pointed out.