Russia: West military support for Ukraine could lead to confrontation between world's nuclear powers
Moscow has warned of a direct confrontation between Russian troops and Western forces over the conflict in Ukraine that could end in catastrophe.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday the United States and NATO countries were obsessed with the idea of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia, adding that their military support for Ukraine has pushed the world to the brink of a direct clash between the world's biggest nuclear powers that could end in catastrophe.
"The Westerners are teetering dangerously on the brink of a direct military clash between nuclear powers, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences," Lavrov said at a conference on non-proliferation in Moscow.
"Of particular concern is the fact that it is the 'troika' of Western nuclear states [US, Britain and France] that are among the key sponsors of the criminal Kiev regime, the main initiators of various provocative steps. We see serious strategic risks in this, leading to an increase in the level of nuclear danger," Lavrov warned.
Lavrov said that the Western countries were building a global missile system capable of eliminating rivals. He added that the US-led Western countries were placing nuclear weapons in military bases all across Europe, while medium- and shorter-range missiles were being planted in other regions across the globe and preparations were made to deploy nuclear weapons into space.
According to both Russian and US diplomats, the present clash between the West and Russia over Ukraine is the worst breakdown of diplomatic relations by the two sides in decades, ever since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis cut bilateral ties.
Despite the risky tension, Western leaders have vowed to continue to work with and to provide support to Kiev to cause "strategic defeat" of Russian forces in Ukraine, while ruling out any deployment of American or European troops in the former Soviet republic.
Lavrov's remarks come just two days after US lawmakers approved billions of dollars in additional military aid to Ukraine.
Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 to prevent NATO's eastward expansion, it has repeatedly warned the US-led Western counties against arming Kiev and the rising nuclear risks - warnings which the US leadership says it has to take seriously, though the officials say they have seen no change in Russian nuclear posture.
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