Russia: Mr. Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Secretary of the Kremlin’s powerful Security Council, has warned that the increased support provided to Ukraine by NATO members brings the risk of a third global conflict closer.
Speaking after the conclusion of the first day of the NATO summit in Lithuania, Mr. Medvedev remarked that promises of military assistance from the Western defence alliance to Kyiv would not deter Russia from pursuing its objectives in Ukraine. Russia’s Foreign Minister also issued similar warnings, indicating that Moscow has no intention of ceasing its war.
“The completely crazy West could not come up with anything else. In fact, it’s a dead end. World War Three is getting closer,” Mr. Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“What does all this mean for us? Everything is obvious. The special military operation will continue with the same goals,” the Deputy Secretary added, using the official Russian name for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mr. Medvedev, who had cast himself as a liberal modernizer when he was Russian president from 2008–2012, has more recently presented himself as a fiercely anti-Western Kremlin hawk. In January, he threatened that defeat in a conventional war in Ukraine could lead to a nuclear war. Diplomats say his views give an indication of the thinking at the top levels of the Kremlin elite.
The United States announced last week that it would supply Kyiv with cluster munitions, which typically release large numbers of small bomblets over a wide area and are banned by many countries because of the danger they pose to civilians during and after conflicts.
Russian Defence Minister Mr. Sergei Shoigu also stated that Moscow would use “similar” weapons in Ukraine if the US supplied Kyiv with cluster bombs.
Mr. Shoigu also warned that Russian cluster weapons are “much more effective than the American ones, their range is wider and more diverse”. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of already using cluster munitions on the battlefield.
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