Russia aims to topple Ukrainian government

Russia’s goal now is to unseat Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a speech given Sunday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at an Arab League summit in Cairo. Russia hopes to “liberate” Ukrainian citizens from “this absolutely unacceptable regime,” he said. The remarks are a stark contrast to what Russian officials said earlier in the war: that they wouldn’t try to topple Zelenskyy’s government.

How is the war going? After Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey to collaborate on resuming grain shipments from Black Sea ports, Russia launched an airstrike on the Ukrainian port of Odessa—one of the ports from which grain shipments would resume. Russia insists the attack did not violate the agreement, as it targeted “military infrastructure.” Ukrainian officials said Russia has continued striking civilian targets with artillery and airstrikes elsewhere in the country.

Dig deeper: Read Evgeny Kosykh’s report in WORLD Magazine about Russians speaking out against their government’s narrative.