An ally of President Vladimir Putin issued a brand new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West on Tuesday as a referendum on Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions entered its fifth and final day.
Moscow’s latest broadside comes as European countries rush to investigate unexplained leaks in two Russian natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea that have hampered efforts to restart a main line carrying Russian gas to Germany. will be made
The Kremlin, which has blamed technical problems for earlier cuts to Russian gas supplies to Europe, said it could not rule out sabotage, but did not say by whom and called for an investigation.
Russia’s confrontation with the West has fueled global inflation and fueled energy and food crises in many countries since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, which has faced tough Western sanctions and Russian retaliation. happened
Tuesday’s nuclear warning from Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, was one of several issued by Putin and his allies in recent weeks.
Analysts say they are designed to deter Ukraine and the West by signaling a readiness to use strategic nuclear weapons to defend the newly annexed territory, where Russian forces have come under heavy pressure from Ukraine in recent weeks. There have been reprisals.
Medvedev’s warning differed from previous ones in that he predicted for the first time that the NATO military alliance would not risk nuclear war and would directly enter a war in Ukraine even if Moscow struck Ukraine with nuclear weapons. made
“I believe that NATO will not intervene directly in the conflict even in this scenario,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.
“The demagogues across the ocean and in Europe are not going to die in a nuclear apocalypse.”
‘Syria’ Referendum
Voting on whether to join Russia in four Ukrainian regions controlled by Moscow — Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia — entered its fifth and final day. The West has said it will not recognize the results of the illegal referendum.
Russian government officials have repeatedly warned that they could use nuclear weapons to defend the new territory if Kiev’s forces, which already occupy parts of it, soon recognize it as autonomous territory at Moscow’s request. Will try to.
NATO and the U.S. have not publicly said how they would respond to a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine, but White House national security adviser Jack Sullivan told CBS on Sunday that Washington had told Moscow to do so. had indicated what he described as “disastrous consequences”. for Russia.
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper Bilk, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said that Ukraine is preparing for the possibility of a Russian nuclear attack, but he said that the responsibility to deter Russia lies with nuclear-armed states.
“…where should we evacuate people in the event of a Russian nuclear strike against Ukraine?” he asked. “This is why the use of nuclear weapons is a question of global security — it’s no longer just about Ukraine.”
Podoliak said in the same interview that Ukrainians who helped hold the referendum on annexation from Russia would face treason charges and at least five years in prison.
“We have lists of names of people who have been involved in one way or another,” he said, adding that Ukrainians forced to vote would not be punished. Ukrainian officials have reported that ballot boxes are being taken door-to-door and residents are being forced to vote in front of Russian soldiers.
No province is fully under Moscow’s control and fighting continues along the entire frontline, with Ukrainian forces reporting further advances after defeating Russian troops in the fifth province of Kharkiv earlier this month.
