Russia's Lavrov warns Europe against 'suicidal escapade' in fiery speech

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned European countries against seeking confrontation with Moscow, saying it would be a "suicidal escapade" as Moscow's war with Ukraine grinds on.

Speaking in place of Russian President Vladimir Putin who, as in past years, did not attend the UN's showpiece event, Lavrov also warned against "dragging (Ukraine) into NATO."

"(The West) hope to defeat Russia using the illegitimate neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, but they're already preparing Europe for it to also throw itself into this suicidal escapade," Lavrov told the annual UN General Assembly gathering.

"I'm not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power."

Lavrov said that "gross violations" of the rights of Russians, and those who "feel that  they are part of Russian culture... bring with them threats to the security of Russia and all of Europe stemming from the Kyiv regime and those that are dragging it into NATO."

Lavrov spoke after it emerged that nine people had been killed in Russian strikes on a hospital in the Ukrainian border city of Sumy, according to Ukrainian authorities.

"Russia hit one of the city's hospitals with Shahed drones," Zelensky wrote on Telegram and regional authorities said the toll had risen to nine dead and 12 injured.

The attack comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pressing Kyiv's Western allies to allow the use of long-range precision weapons to strike deep inside Russia.