Russian security official warns of World War Three amid threats by Putin to deploy nuclear weapons
Russian security official warns of World War Three if Ukraine joins NATO amid threats by Putin to deploy nuclear weapons.
According to a Russian Security Council source quoted on Thursday, if Ukraine joins the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, the war there will inevitably worsen and turn into World War Three.
On September 30, only a few hours after Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, formally proclaimed the annexation of up to 18% of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise application for fast-track membership in NATO.
And since all 30 countries of the organization would need to agree, full NATO membership for Ukraine is still in the future.
“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to World War Three,” TASS quoted Alexander Venediktov, the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, as saying.
Venediktov, who is deputy to Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a powerful Putin ally, said he felt Ukraine’s application was propaganda as the West understood the consequences of Ukrainian membership of NATO.
“The suicidal nature of such a step is understood by NATO members themselves,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin has criticized the United States for pushing NATO’s eastward expansion on numerous occasions, particularly for its courtship of former Soviet nations like Ukraine and Georgia that Russia views as being inside its own sphere of influence.
On September 21, Putin issued a warning to the West, stating that he was serious when he indicated he would be prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia against what he called “nuclear blackmail” from powerful Western nations.
According to U.S. President Joe Biden, the chance of nuclear Armageddon is greater than it has been since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The annual NATO “Steadfast Noon” nuclear readiness drill is scheduled for next week.
Russia and the United States are by far the biggest nuclear powers: they control about 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads.
Venediktov said Zelenskiy’s call for preventive strikes against Russia was dangerous, cautioning that nuclear war would have catastrophic consequences for the world.
“We must remember: a nuclear conflict will affect absolutely the whole world — not only Russia and the collective West, but every country on this planet,” Venediktov said. “The consequences would be disastrous for all mankind.”
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