Russia threatens countries helping to arm Ukraine: 'Legitimate targets' for Russian attacks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said that any countries providing military equipment to aid Ukraine in its fight against the Russian incursion would be considered "legitimate targets" for any Russian strikes.

What are the details?

In a statement, Lavrov told the RT television channel that any cargo containing foreign supplies that Russia believes to include military equipment will be "fair game."

"We clearly said that any cargo moving into the Ukrainian territory which we would believe is carrying weapons would be fair game," he said. "This is clear because we are implementing the operation the goal of which is to remove any threat to the Russian Federation coming from the Ukrainian soil."

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made similar comments last week, the Financial Times reported.

At the time, Ryabkov said that "pumping up [Ukraine] with weapons from a whole range of countries" was "not just a dangerous move," but "something that turns these convoys into legitimate military targets."

According to the Times of Israel, he added that Moscow had previously warned “about the consequences of the thoughtless transfer to Ukraine of weapons like man-portable air defense systems, anti-tank missile systems and so on.”

What else?

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday delivered remarks about the ongoing invasion during a jam-packed outdoor concert in Moscow.

According to reports, the slogan "For a world without Nazism" appeared on the stage on which Putin spoke.

Of the ongoing invasion — which the Russian president previously referred to as a "special military operation" — Putin reportedly said, "It is precisely to save people from this suffering, from this genocide that is the main, main reason, motive and goal of the military operation that we launched in the Donbass and Ukraine."

"We know what we need to do, how to do it and at what cost," he was said to have added. "And we will absolutely accomplish all of our plans."