Ukraine: Russia declares ‘entering war’ with NATO and asks the West to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine | World News
Moscow says it is having an effective war with NATO – and warns that Western weapons are fueling the conflict in Ukraine.
Speaking on the 61st day of the war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the continued delivery of supplies and weapons to Ukraine meant the NATO alliance had positioned itself as “essentially participating in the conflict.” war with Russia” and accused the organization of “fueling the fire”.
The diplomat also warned against provoking a third world war and said the threat of a nuclear conflict “should not be underestimated”.
Lavrov said weapons supplied by Western countries “would be a legitimate target”, adding that Russian forces had attacked weapons depots in western Ukraine.
“Everybody says that in any case, we can’t let a Third World War happen,” Mr. He accused Ukraine’s leaders of provoking Russia by asking NATO to get involved in the conflict.
“In essence, NATO enters a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy,” Lavrov continued.
“War means war.”
Ukraine War: Live updates and latest developments
Situation in eastern Ukraine on the day of war 61
His comments came after it was announced the US would allocate an additional $713 million (£560 million) in military aid – but this would not go directly to Ukraine but to members. of NATO.
Mariupol to be discussed as UN head to meet Putin
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to visit Russia today and Ukraine later this week.
Mr. Guterres, who has pushed for a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine, will meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow later today and then with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday.
According to Russia’s RIA news agency, the city of Mariupol, which has been devastated by the war, will be present for the talks in Moscow.
Earlier, Lavrov also stated that there is a “significant” risk of the conflict escalating to nuclear weapons.
“The danger is serious, real, and we must not underestimate it,” he said.
However, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba dismissed the comments as brave, writing on Twitter after Lavrov’s interview: “This just means Moscow senses defeat.”
In the main developments:
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “the battle for Kyiv has been won” but warned there are other areas of Ukraine where Russian forces “continue to commit atrocities”.
- The conflict has “significantly disrupted” Ukraine’s agricultural production, with grain harvests for 2022 likely to be around 20% lower than in 2021.
- UK says it is sending armored vehicles, more ambulances and extra funding to train Ukrainian doctors
- Russia claims to have destroyed oil refinery and fuel depot in Dnipro
- Ukraine says no agreed evacuation route for Mariupol
- A series of explosions tore through the capital of Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region – on the Ukrainian border
- A total of 21,900 Russian soldiers have been killed in the conflict so far, according to the Ukrainian armed forces.
The UK is sponsoring a UK medical aid charity to provide mass victimization training for doctors in Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, but its forces have now completely withdrawn from the capital Kyiv and much of northern Ukraine to Belarus and back to Russia.
The port city of Mariupol is now mostly under the control of Russian forces, and Russia’s large-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine has begun with the goal of “completely liberating” the Donbas – the eastern regions of Ukraine. Donetsk and Luhansk.
On Monday, the US said it would again increase the amount of military equipment it was sending to Ukraine.
The Foreign Office used an emergency declaration to approve the sale of $165m (£129m) munitions including shells for artillery, tanks and grenade launchers. It also said it would provide more than $300m (£235m) in financing to buy more supplies.
And US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin appeared to signal a shift in broader US strategic goals when he said after the statement that while the US would like to see Ukraine remain a democratic country, there sovereignty, they also want to “see Russia so weakened. It can’t do things like invade Ukraine”.
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Previously, the US view was that the goal of US military aid was to help Ukraine win and defend Ukraine’s NATO neighbors against threats from Russia.
It led to Moscow’s ambassador to Washington warning the US to stop shipping and claiming that Western weapons were fueling the conflict.
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‘There is no peace with Putin in the Kremlin’
On the battlefield, Russia launched a series of attacks against railway and fuel installations deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines of the new offensive east of Moscow.
The conflict in Ukraine, the largest attack on a European country since 1945, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than five million people have to flee abroad.
Moscow called its actions a “special operation” aimed at disarming Ukraine and protecting Ukraine from the fascists.
But Ukraine and the West consider it a false pretext for a gratuitous war of aggression by President Putin.
