Lavrov vows ‘full protection’ for regions that will join Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says regions of Ukraine where referendums are being held will be under Moscow’s “full protection” if they join Russia.

Russian territory, including territory "further enshrined" in Russia's constitution in the future, "is under the full protection of the state," Lavrov said at a news conference in New York, when asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend those regions of Ukraine.

The comments came after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday that any weapons in Moscow's arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia.

This comes as voting is under way in several regions of Ukraine for a referendum where residents will decide if they want to join the Russian Federation.

“Following those referendums, Russia of course will respect the expression of the will of those people who for many long years have been suffering from the abuses of the neo-Nazi regime,” Lavrov told reporters after addressing the United Nations General Assembly.

On the Russian operation in Ukraine, Lavrov also said, “the operation launched on 24 February had been carried out to protect Russians living in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and eliminate threats to Russian security.”

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