The "geographical objectives" of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine have changed as the West is providing Ukraine with more long-range weapons, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

Beyond Lugansk and Donetsk, the Russian operation will be expanded to the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and other territories to push the contact line further away, Lavrov told RT broadcaster and RIA Novosti news agency in an interview.

"Because we cannot allow the part of Ukraine that (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky controls or whoever replaces him to have weapons that will pose a direct threat to our territory and the territory of those republics that have declared independence," he said.