In this handout photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gestures during a joint news conference with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, following their talks in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, July 24, 2022. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)In this handout photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gestures during a joint news conference with Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, following their talks in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, July 24, 2022. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)(AP) — Russia’s top diplomat says Moscow’s overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its “unacceptable regime,” expressing the Kremlin’s war aims in some of the bluntest terms yet. Moscow’s forces, meanwhile, continue to pummel the country with artillery barrages and airstrikes. The remark from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comes amid Ukraine’s efforts to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports, something that would help ease global food shortages, under a new deal tested by a Russian strike on Odesa over the weekend.

Source: ABC News July 25, 2022 16:38 UTC