Russia will continue its special military operation until the threats posed by Ukraine are removed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in exclusive responses to Newsweek questions, the latter reports.

Lavrov recalled that On 14 June, Russian President Vladimir Putin listed prerequisites for the settlement as follows: complete AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine]  withdrawal from the DPR [Donetsk People's Republic], LPR [Luhansk People's Republic], Zaporozhye and Kherson Oblasts; recognition of territorial realities as enshrined in the Russian Constitution; neutral, non-bloc, non-nuclear status for Ukraine; its demilitarization and denazification; securing the rights, freedoms and interests of Russian-speaking citizens; and removal of all sanctions against Russia.

According to the Russian FM, Kyiv "responded to this statement by an armed incursion into the Kursk Oblast [of Russia] on 6 August."

"Its [i.e. Ukraine’s] patrons—the U.S. and other NATO countries—seek to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Under the circumstances, we [i.e. Russia] have no choice but to continue our special military operation until the threats posed by Ukraine are removed," said the Russian foreign policy chief.