Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Ukraine cannot claim territorial integrity enshrined in the UN Charter, since the Kyiv authorities, in his opinion, do not represent the interests of all residents of the country. In an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, published on April 15, 2025, Lavrov emphasized that the government of Volodymyr Zelensky does not reflect the will of the people of Crimea, Donbass, as well as the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, which Moscow considers part of Russia. The minister called the Kiev regime "Nazi" and accused it of violating the principle of self-determination of peoples, which, according to him, deprives Ukraine of the right to refer to international norms.

Lavrov explained that he regularly discusses this position with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who insists on respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity. According to the minister, the Declaration on Principles of International Law, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1970, requires respect for the integrity of only those states whose governments represent the entire population, without violating the right to self-determination. Lavrov claims that Zelensky and his entourage do not meet these criteria, since, in Moscow's opinion, they ignored the interests of the southeastern regions. This rhetoric underscores Russia's principled position, which views control over the disputed territories as an irreversible fact.

Lavrov's statement has sparked a new wave of debate, as it directly contradicts the position of the UN and the majority of countries in the world that recognize Ukraine within its 1991 borders.