Lavrov accuses West of aiming to destroy Russia

MOSCOW/KYIV — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday accused the West of wanting to inflict a lasting defeat against Moscow and lashed out against European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen who earlier arrived in Kyiv.

"Von der Leyen ... said that the outcome of the conflict should be the defeat of Russia, the kind of defeat that for decades, for many decades, Russia cannot restore its economy," Lavrov said in comments aired on Russian state television.

Lavrov repeatedly said Russia was ready for peace in Ukraine, but that if you want peace, you have to be ready to defend yourself.

The European Commission chief arrived in Kyiv with a team of commissioners and the bloc's most senior diplomat, a day before a Ukraine-European Union summit.

Top EU officials were expected to promise more military, financial and political aid, a symbolic trip meant to highlight support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of the conflict with Russia nears, Reuters reported.

But the EU was set to dash Ukraine's hopes of being swiftly allowed membership, stressing the need for more anti-corruption measures and unwilling to admit a country at conflict, the biggest armed one in Europe since World War II.

On Friday, Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel were due to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This is the first such gathering in the Ukrainian capital since the conflict started on Feb 24 last year.

So far, the 27-nation EU has earmarked nearly 60 billion euros ($65 billion) in aid to Ukraine, according to officials, including nearly 12 billion euros of military support and 18 billion euros promised to help run the country this year.

Despite much admiration for Ukraine's resistance and praise for moves to crack down on corruption, the EU still refuses to offer Kyiv a fast track to membership.

Not there yet

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he wanted Ukraine to join the EU in two years. But a liberal Belgian EU lawmaker said teasingly that he dreamed of it happening over the next five. In reality, that is most likely to take much longer.

"Some may want to speculate about the end game, but the simple truth is that we are not there yet," another EU official said.

Instead of committing to dates, EU officials have listed multiple conditions to join from political and economic stability to adopting EU laws from climate to social and health standards.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over commemorations in Volgograd to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest in World War II.

The Battle of Stalingrad lasted more than six months, ending with the surrender of German troops on Feb 2, 1943, after more than a million people were killed.

Agencies Via Xinhua