Russia raised concerns on Monday about the military support provided by the United States, Britain, and France to Ukraine, warning that it could lead to a dangerous confrontation between the world’s major nuclear powers.
President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has strained relations between Russia and the West to their worst point since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, according to Russian and U.S. diplomats.
Just days after U.S. lawmakers approved additional military aid to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States and NATO of being fixated on defeating Russia strategically.
Lavrov expressed alarm over Western backing for Ukraine, suggesting that it could escalate into a direct military confrontation between nuclear-armed powers. He warned of catastrophic consequences if such a clash were to occur.
“The Western powers are perilously close to provoking a direct military conflict between nuclear states, which could have disastrous outcomes,” Lavrov stated at a conference on non-proliferation in Moscow.
He highlighted the involvement of Western nuclear states in supporting the Ukrainian government, describing it as a significant strategic risk that heightens the nuclear threat.
Since the onset of the conflict, Russia has repeatedly cautioned about the increasing nuclear risks, a concern taken seriously by the United States, despite no apparent change in Russia’s nuclear posture.
Putin has framed the war as a defense against Western encroachment on Russia’s historical sphere of influence, dating back to the end of the Cold War. However, Ukraine and its Western allies view it as an unjust territorial expansion by a corrupt regime.
As tensions escalate, both Russia and the United States lament the breakdown of arms control treaties that aimed to mitigate the risk of nuclear conflict.
Lavrov criticized the Western approach to arms control, accusing them of seeking to limit Russia and China’s nuclear arsenals while bolstering their own non-nuclear military capabilities.
He pointed to the development of global missile defense systems, the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe, and the militarization of space as examples of Western aggression.
In February, Putin declared Russia’s opposition to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space, refuting accusations of Russian involvement in such activities.
The United States maintains that its defense initiatives comply with international agreements and are defensive in nature, with a focus on peaceful space exploration.
Lavrov also condemned what he described as a Western propaganda campaign aimed at discrediting Russia and diverting attention from real threats in outer space.
Amidst these tensions, Lavrov reiterated Russia’s commitment to establishing legally binding instruments to prevent the weaponization of outer space.
