Russia’s foreign minister warns: ‘A third world war will be NUCLEAR and destructive’
Russia’s foreign minister warns: ‘A third world war will be NUCLEAR and destructive’
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that WWIII will be fought with nukesHe warned that a third World War ‘will be a nuclear and destructive one’ Lavrov also accused Kyiv of delaying peace talks at the behest of the US It comes as Russian losses in Ukraine mount in the face of fierce resistance Putin has received international condemnation for his forces’ military operation BREAKING: More to follow Click here for MailOnline’s liveblog with the latest updates on the Ukraine crisis
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Russia‘s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that a third world war ‘will be nuclear and destructive’ as the fallout of his nation’s invasion of neighbour Ukraine intensifies.
In a thinly veiled threat for NATO not to get involved in Ukraine, Lavrov said that any future world war would be fought with nuclear weapons – a statement that comes just days after President Vladimir Putin warned that any country sending troops to Ukraine would be met with severe consequences.
The foreign minister went on to claim that Moscow was ready to enter a second round of negotiations aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, and accused Kyiv of deliberately delaying the process at the request of the United States.
‘We are ready for the second round of negotiations, but the Ukrainian side is delaying [the process] at the behest of the Americans,’ said Lavrov, according to Russian news agency TASS.
A Russian source close to the negotiations said that the second round of negotiations is supposed to take place later today close to the Belarusian-Polish border.
Lavrov this morning also sought to justify the invasion of Ukraine by saying Russia’s forces ‘will not allow Ukraine to obtain nuclear weapons’, TASS reported.
There is no evidence that Ukraine has nuclear weapons or plans to acquire them, though Lavrov yesterday questioned why the United States continued to maintain nuclear weapons in European countries in spite of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In a thinly veiled threat for NATO not to get involved in Ukraine, Lavrov (right) said that any future world war would be fought with nuclear weapons – a statement that comes just days after President Vladimir Putin (left) warned that any country sending troops to Ukraine would be met with severe consequences
Ambassadors and diplomats walk out while Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (on screen) speaks during a pre-recorded video message at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 01 March 2022
‘It is unacceptable for us that US nuclear weapons still remain in a number of European states in contradiction to the basic points of the Non-Proliferation Treaty,’ Lavrov told a Geneva conference on disarmament in a pre-recorded message.
‘The bad practice of joint nuclear missions with the participation of non-nuclear NATO states continues. During such missions, the use of nuclear weapons against Russia is being practiced,’ Lavrov continued.
‘US nuclear weapons must have long been returned home, and the corresponding infrastructure in Europe must have long been eliminated.’
But his words fell on deaf ears as delegates from around the world walked out of the conference amid Lavrov’s remonstrations.
Russia’s threats come as its forces begin to rack up considerable losses amid bitter urban fighting in the streets of several Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s armed forces reported this morning that they had killed 5,840 Russian troops since the beginning of the invasion, and destroyed or seized a wide range of Russian armour and equipment.
In a Facebook post this morning, the general staff claimed Ukrainian soldiers had destroyed 61 aircraft, over 200 tanks, 862 armoured vehicles, 85 artillery systems, nine anti-aircraft systems, 60 fuel tanks and had seized 40 Russian rocket launchers.
These statistics could not be independently verified. The Kremlin meanwhile has refused to release a death toll for its soldiers as it engages in a propaganda campaign designed to favourably mould the narrative through state-owned media channels.
