WWIII won’t remain confined in Europe, Russia warns US
Russia has issued a stern warning to the West, accusing it of "playing with fire" by considering allowing Ukraine to launch deeper strikes into Russian territory using Western-supplied missiles.
On Tuesday, Russia cautioned the United States that World War III would not be confined to Europe if such actions were taken.
The warning follows Ukraine's August 6 attack on Russia's western Kursk region, marking the most significant foreign assault on Russia since World War II. In response, President Vladimir Putin promised an appropriate retaliation.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister for over 20 years, criticised the West for escalating the Ukraine conflict and "asking for trouble" by entertaining Ukrainian requests to relax restrictions on using foreign weapons, reports RTE attributing to Reuters.
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Putin has repeatedly highlighted the risk of a broader conflict involving the world's largest nuclear powers, though he has emphasized that Russia does not seek a confrontation with NATO.
Lavrov remarked, "Playing with fire—like small children playing with matches—is perilous for adults entrusted with nuclear weapons in Western countries." He also noted that Americans often associate the idea of a Third World War with a conflict affecting Europe exclusively.
Lavrov added that Russia was "clarifying" its nuclear doctrine, which, as outlined in 2020, allows the president to consider using nuclear weapons in response to an attack with nuclear, mass destruction, or conventional weapons if the state's very existence is threatened.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently downplayed Kremlin threats of retaliation following the Kursk region assault, suggesting that these warnings were bluffs. Zelenskiy lamented that due to restrictions from allies, Ukraine couldn't fully utilize its arsenal against certain Russian military targets and urged for bolder support from Western nations.
Russia has claimed that Ukraine used Western weapons, including British tanks and U.S. rocket systems, during the Kursk operation. Kyiv confirmed the use of U.S. HIMARS missiles to destroy bridges in the region.
Washington stated that it was not informed about Ukraine's plans before the attack on Kursk and denied any involvement in the operation. However, Russian intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin expressed scepticism about Western claims of non-involvement, and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called US participation an "obvious fact."
According to The New York Times, the US and Britain provided Ukraine with satellite imagery and other intelligence about the Kursk region in the days following the attack, purportedly to help Ukraine monitor Russian reinforcements.
