RussiaRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that World War III “will be nuclear and destructive” as his country’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine intensifies.
In a thinly veiled threat to NATO in order not to interfere in Ukraine, Lavrov said that any future world war would be fought nuclear weapons – a statement that comes just days after the president Vladimir Putin warned that any country sending troops to Ukraine would face severe consequences.
The foreign minister went on to say that Moscow was ready to enter a second round of talks aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, and accused Kyiv of deliberately delaying the process at the request of the United States.
“We are ready for the second round of talks, but the Ukrainian side is delaying [the process] on the orders of the Americans, “Lavrov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
A Russian source close to the talks said the second round of talks was due to take place later today near the Belarusian-Polish border, following an initial diplomacy attempt that ended on Monday.
Lavrov also tried this morning to justify the invasion of Ukraine, saying Russian forces “will not allow Ukraine to acquire nuclear weapons,” TASS reported.
There is no evidence that Ukraine has nuclear weapons or plans to acquire them, although Lavrov yesterday questioned why the United States continues to maintain nuclear weapons in European countries despite the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
As the conflict in Ukraine erupted on its seventh day today, Russian paratroopers landed in the second city of Kharkov after suffering three days of prolonged shelling and rocket attacks that caused enormous damage.
Zhytomyr and Kyiv also suffered new missile strikes, one of which toppled the capital’s 1,500-foot-tall television mast as Russian forces pushed the besieged Black Sea city of Kherson south.
In a veiled threat to NATO from interfering in Ukraine, Lavrov (right) says any future world war will be fought with nuclear weapons, a statement that comes just days after President Vladimir Putin (left) warned that every country sending troops to Ukraine will have severe consequences
Ambassadors and diplomats leave while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (on screen) speaks during a pre-recorded video message at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, March 1, 2022. .
As the conflict in Ukraine erupted on its seventh day today, Russian paratroopers landed in the second city of Kharkiv after suffering three days of prolonged shelling and rocket attacks that caused enormous damage (a Russian air strike hit the Kharkiv police department).
View of the square in front of the damaged local mayor’s office of Kharkiv on March 1, 2022, destroyed as a result of shelling by Russian troops
This image appears to show the base of the 95th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Zhytomyr, which was hit by Russian missiles
A view shows a destroyed building in a residential area as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, in this photo published on March 2, 2022.
“It is unacceptable for us that American nuclear weapons still remain in a number of European countries, contrary to the main points of the NPT,” Lavrov told a disarmament conference in Geneva in a pre-recorded statement.
“The bad practice of joint nuclear missions involving non-nuclear ones NATO countries continues. “During such missions, the use of nuclear weapons against Russia is practiced,” Lavrov continued.
“US nuclear weapons should have returned home a long time ago, and the corresponding infrastructure in Europe should have been eliminated a long time ago.”
But his words remained deaf when delegates from around the world left the conference amid Lavrov’s protests.
Russia’s threats come as its forces begin to inflict significant losses amid fierce urban battles on the streets of several Ukrainian cities.
Ukraine’s armed forces said this morning they had killed 5,840 Russian soldiers since the invasion began.
In a Facebook post this morning, the General Staff said Ukrainian troops also destroyed 61 planes, more than 200 tanks, 862 armored vehicles, 85 artillery systems, nine anti-aircraft systems, 60 fuel tanks and captured 40 Russian missile launchers.
These statistics cannot be verified independently.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, declined to say how many soldiers had died as it took part in a propaganda campaign aimed at shaping the narrative through state media channels, but insisted its losses were significantly lower than those offered by Ukraine.
Moscow is launching a new online portal offering Russian citizens “official and verified information” that will counter “fakes and rumors” about the current situation in the country, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said.
Meanwhile, Russian expert and former member of parliament Alexander Sherin has denied claims of thousands killed in Russia.
“In 10 years of war in Afghanistan, we have unfortunately lost 14,000 soldiers and officers. That was over 10 years.
“When they say we lost 2,000 or even 5,000 people in four days, that’s complete nonsense. This is an attempt to demoralize our army and people. ”
This photo, taken on February 26, 2022, shows a Russian armored personnel carrier (APC) burning during a battle with the Ukrainian armed forces in Kharkiv.
In a Facebook post this morning, the General Staff claimed that Ukrainian troops had destroyed 61 planes, more than 200 tanks, 862 armored vehicles, 85 artillery systems, nine anti-aircraft systems, 60 fuel tanks and captured 40 Russian missiles since the invasion.
A fighter from the Ukrainian Territorial Defense examines a destroyed Russian GAZ Tiger mobile infantry mobile vehicle after a battle in Kharkiv on February 27, 2022.
The fighter of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense takes the automatic grenade launcher from the destroyed Russian infantry mobile machine GAZ Tiger after the battle in Kharkov on February 27, 2022.
Russian paratroopers landed in Ukraine’s second city amid heavy fighting early this morning on the seventh day of the invasion.
Kharkov has been under siege for three days as Russian troops were pushed out of the city by Ukrainian defense forces, only to allow Putin to launch a protracted bombing raid that destroyed many administrative and housing structures.
“There are practically no areas left in Kharkiv where an artillery shell has not yet struck,” said an official of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.
Russia has also stepped up its bombings and rocket attacks elsewhere, hitting Kyiv’s main TV tower, two apartment buildings in a city west of the city and the city of Bila Tserkva south of the capital.
The bombing of the TV tower was particularly outrageous when rocket attacks struck Babin Yar, a ravine near the structure where about 150,000 people were killed by the Nazis – including 34,000 Jews in two horrific days in 1941 – during the campaign. Adolf Hitler v. Soviet Union.
After the attack, Vladimir Zelensky wrote on Twitter: “To the world: what’s the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years if the world is silent when a bomb falls on the same spot on Babin Yar?” At least 5 killed. History repeats itself … ‘