Ukraine must demilitarise or Russia ‘will solve the issue’, says Lavrov

Ukrainian servicemen hold a flag over the coffin of a comrade during a funeral ceremony in Kyiv (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demand for “demilitarisation” and “denazification”, as well as the removal of the military threat to Russia, or “the Russian army (will) solve the issue”.

Mr Lavrov also accused the West of fuelling the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia, and said that it depended on Kyiv and Washington how long the conflict – which started on February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine – would last.