Lavrov-US Have Long Been De Facto Involved In Ukraine Conflict

Wires carrying comments from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that the 'US has long been de facto involved' in the war in Ukraine.

• Lavrov: 'The US says it is open to negotiations with Russia but this is a lie, we haven't received any serious offers of contact'.
• With Russia now claiming the four annexed Ukrainian oblasts as territory of the Russian Federation, there is the potential for Moscow to argue that by arming Ukraine the US is actively engaging in warfare against Russia and therefore it would be appropriate to retaliate. This would risk an unprecedented uptick in tensions, with the real prospect of direct Russian-US conflict.
• Comes as the Russian Defence Ministry confirms the continuation of missile attacks on cities around Ukraine, stating that it has sustained a 'massive high-precision weapons attack on military targets and energy infrastructure in Ukraine'.