Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya, during a speech at a meeting of the UN Security Council, said that Russia's goal of making Ukraine a "normal neighborly state" would be achieved - peacefully or militarily, TASS reports.

“Until they finally see the light in Kyiv and in the West, we will defend our interests with all the methods at our disposal,” he said.

He stressed that all the goals of the special military operation in Ukraine would be achieved. At the same time, the regime of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his Western sponsors, who set out to “defeat Russia on the battlefield,” will bear responsibility for the deaths of civilians “due to the thoughtless actions of their vassal rulers in relation to the West.”

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the special operation was aimed at protecting Russia's "legitimate interests under international law, and not under American rules."