Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said warned that a third World War, should it break out, will be “nuclear and devastating”, amid spiralling tensions with the West over Moscow’s ongoing massive military operation against Ukraine. “A third World War would be a devastating nuclear war, Russia’s longtime top diplomat said in an interview to the Al Jazeera television channel, according to state-owned TASS news agency.
Also, Lavrov stressed US President Joe Biden’s remark that a third World War would be an alternative to Washington’s tough sanctions against Moscow. Lavrov said that Russia was ready for sanctions that were imposed against it but were surprised that the penalties affected athletes and journalists.
“We were ready for sanctions but did not expect that they would affect athletes, intellectuals, actors and journalists, he said, referring to the ban and sanctions by Western countries. In his maiden State of the Union address, President Biden on Tuesday night accused his Russian counterpart of waging a “premeditated and unprovoked” war against Ukraine, asserting that “dictators” like Vladimir Putin would “pay a price” for “invading” a foreign country.
Lavrov said that Russia is ready for the second round of talks, but the Ukrainian side is delaying the process under command from the Americans. Earlier on Tuesday, Lavrov said that the West should not establish military facilities on the territory of former USSR states that are not members of NATO.
A week after launching its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said its forces took control of the first sizable city on Wednesday, seizing Kherson, in the south, as fighting raged around the country and Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia.
More than half a million Ukrainians have fled the fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of his southern neighbour nearly a week ago.
Russian bombardments of Ukrainian cities continued, with a video posted on social media showing heavily damaged buildings around the second city of Kharkiv.
“While he may make gains on the battlefield, he will pay a continuing high price over the long run,” U.S. President Joe Biden said at his State of the Union address. Straying from the prepared text, Biden added “He has no idea what’s coming.” He did not elaborate.
The invaders’ advances have been met with fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces and a miles-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv has made little progress towards the capital.
In a video address on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said nearly 6,000 Russians had been killed in the first six days of Moscow’s invasion, and that the Kremlin would not be able to take his country with bombs and airstrikes.
(With agency inputs)
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