Moscow has warned that statements by Ukrainian officials that the West supports an attack on Crimea raises the risk of a full-blown war between Russia and NATO.
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev (Photo: RT).
“If this is true and we have no reason to doubt it, then this is direct, legally significant evidence of the West’s participation in the war against Russia,” Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on August 29.
This is the basis of Russia’s response actions against all NATO countries, he stressed.
He said that if the West really supported Ukraine’s actions “to destroy everything that Russia controls”, it would increase the risk of a full-scale conflict between Russia and NATO. At this time, the “end of the world” became closer.
The warning came after Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Ukraine’s president, said Western countries backing Ukraine absolutely agree that the country could attack deep into regions Russia has seized control from Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula.
“I repeat, a year ago, even if there had been some terrorist attacks in Crimea, everyone would have said no … Today, the countries that support us are in absolute consensus that we can destroy it. Destroy everything in the regions that Russia has. took control,” Podolyak said on state television on August 28.
In addition to Crimea, late last year Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions: Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporozhye.
Podolyak said that Ukraine would intensify attacks on Russian-controlled territories using “unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of unknown origin.”
Recently, Moscow and a number of other cities on the Russian border have been repeatedly attacked by drones. However, Ukraine has not publicly confirmed its role in these attacks.
The Economist quoted experts as saying it was part of a Ukrainian campaign to “psychologically influence” Russians and appeared to be supported by intelligence shared by the West.
The United States and its allies confirmed that they do not encourage or support Ukraine in attacks on Russian territory due to fears of an escalation of the conflict. The West continues to supply weapons, share intelligence and train Ukrainian troops, but claims to be not a direct party to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Moscow has accused the US and its allies of waging a proxy war against Russia, calling Ukraine “cannon fodder.”
Commenting on the Ukrainian presidential aide’s statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kiev wants to believe that the West is supporting them “to destroy everything that Russia controls,” but does not understand the risks involved.
“The representatives of the Kiev government want to believe it and, of course, they want to destroy everything (controlled by Russia) in order to drag the Western countries into this war as deeply as possible. We know the West. We understand the danger, and that their participation is inevitable. We will closely monitor the situation “, Peskov said.