Russia vows to 'gain world's attention' on Ukraine war anniversary

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week indicated that Moscow was planning measures to draw the world's attention toward it instead of planned anti-Russian demonstrations slated for Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion.

"Our diplomacy will do everything to ensure that the anti-Russian sabbaths planned for the end of February — as if timed to coincide with the anniversary of the special military operation, both in New York and at other sites that the West is now actively working on together with the Kyiv regime — so that this will not turn out to be the only events that will gain the world's attention," Lavrov said on state television, per the New York Post.

The foreign minister gave few details, but experts worldwide have warned of an impending renewal of the Russian war effort that may loosely coincide with the war's one-year anniversary.

It further comes as Muscovite forces appear to be making gains in the Donetsk region in Ukraine's east, capturing the city of Soledar and the nearby village of Blahodatne in recent weeks as Russian forces move to encircle Ukrainian defenders entrenched in the strategically positioned city of Bakhmut.

President Joe Biden committed to supplying Ukraine with 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks earlier this year, though the delivery of the vehicles and training process are likely to prevent them from taking the field for several months.

Lavrov further addressed the Western supply of war materials to Kyiv, including long-range weapons that he said necessitated that Russia push Ukrainian forces further from the border.

"We're now seeking to push back Ukrainian army artillery to a distance that will not pose a threat to our territories," the Kremlin's top diplomat said. "The greater the range of the weapons supplied to the Kyiv regime, the more we will have to push them back from territories which are part of our country."