Russia says seeks no nuclear escalation, but its patience should not be tested

Russia says it does not plan to take the path of nuclear escalation, warning that others should not put its patience to test.

Since the onset of Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, the United States and Kiev's other Western allies have sent Ukraine tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems, despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such flood of military support would prolong the war.

Furthermore, senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have time and again warned military support for Kiev is inevitably increasing the risk of a catastrophic nuclear conflict.

The latest warning came from Moscow on Thursday with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying Russia seeks no nuclear escalation, but then again others should not test its patience. "We will do everything to prevent the development of events according to the worst scenario, but not at the cost of infringing on our vital interests. I do not recommend that anybody doubt our determination and put it to the test in practice."

Despite stern warnings by Moscow against the NATO expansion, Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, joined the US-led military alliance quite recently, becoming the 31st member.

Russia waged the current war on Ukraine over the perceived threat of the ex-Soviet republic joining NATO, among other reasons.

"They (the United States) continue to deliberately infringe on our fundamental interests, deliberately generate risks and raise the stakes in the confrontation with Russia...."

Medvedev warns of global nuclear catastrophe if West’s arms supplies to Ukraine continue

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warns that the continued influx of Western weaponry to Ukraine amid the raging war risks a global nuclear catastrophe.

Her remarks came a few days after Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012, warned the world was "quite probably on the verge of a new world war."

While the US and its allies have denounced the war as Russia's imperial land grab, Moscow has described the operation as an existential battle with what it calls an aggressive and arrogant West, saying Russia will use all available means to defend itself from any aggressor.

Russia welcomes any peace efforts by Ukraine: Kremlin

Separately on Thursday, Moscow said it would welcome any attempt to end the war in Ukraine providing that it would be based on Russia's terms, just a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his first phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since the onset of war, said peace talks were the only way to end the conflict.

"We are ready to welcome anything that can bring forward the end of the conflict in Ukraine and the achievement of Russia's goals. As for the very fact of communication, this is the sovereign matter of these countries," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a press conference. He also said there was no plan for any new contacts between Putin and Xi in the near future.

The rare phone call between Xi and Zelensky, which lasted for nearly an hour, came two months after Beijing, which has long been aligned with Russia, said it wanted to act as a peace mediator in the war and proposed a 12-point peace plan in February, calling for an immediate "political settlement" to the conflict, and an end to unilateral Western sanctions against Moscow.

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