Kremlin official says West has declared ‘total war’ on Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday took aim at the sanctions the United States and other countries have imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, saying he believes that the West has declared “total war” on Russia.

Lavrov made his comments during a meeting in which he described actions that Western nations have taken in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “a real hybrid war,” adding that “total war was declared on us,” The Associated Press reported.

Lavrov also said that he believes the West has a goal “to destroy, break, annihilate, strangle the Russian economy, and Russia on the whole,” according to the AP.

He then warned that Russia does have allies.

“We have many friends, allies, partners in the world, a huge number of associations in which Russia is working with countries of all continents, and we will continue to do so,” Lavrov reportedly said.

Russia invaded Ukraine a month ago and has since stepped up its targeting of civilian areas. The Biden administration this week formally accused Moscow of war crimes in Ukraine. 

President Biden is in Europe this week meeting with European and NATO members. New sanctions were announced Thursday on allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Biden is scheduled to end his trip to Europe in Poland, where he will deliver a major address on Saturday. Poland shares a border with Ukraine. 

The international sanctions have clearly hurt the Russian economy, though Lavrov emphasized that many states will decline to join that effort.