Russia aims to stop Ukraine from joining NATO - Lavrov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian military operation against Ukraine is aimed, among other things, at ensuring that Kyiv does not join NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian state television on Thursday.

Lavrov said Russian forces were attacking military targets in Ukraine but added that the term "collateral damage" has been in use since the Western campaigns in Iraq and Libya.

(Reporting by Moscow bureau; Editing by Alison Williams)