The escalation of the conflict in Ukraine by the West is evident, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"The fact that the West cannot calm down and, as in the infamous fairy tales, with every step it gets even more bogged down - this plays an important role on the course of the operation. This escalation, you are absolutely right, it is like a snowball effect," Lavrov told Russia 24 TV channel and the RIA Novosti news agency, responding to a question about whether there is an escalation in light of the West's arms supplies.