Russia-Ukraine conflict: Lavrov said Russia would face a "real threat" if Kyiv acquired a nuclear weapon, adding that it would not allow the latter to acquire it.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that a third world war would involve nuclear weapons and would be devastating.
According to a Reuters report, Lavrov said Russia would face a "real threat" if Kyiv acquired a nuclear weapon, adding that it would not allow the latter to acquire it. The Kremlin launched a military offensive in Ukraine last week and is bombing its cities amid widespread global condemnation and unprecedented sanctions by the West.
It comes amid Russia's claim that its military has taken control of the area around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant after diplomats held an emergency meeting to express their growing concern over security as fighting escalated. Was.
Ukrainian officials said they retained control of the plant and that a combat-ready military unit remained within the perimeter. According to multiple online accounts, some residents of the nearby town of Enerhodar put up barricades at the plant.
Russia has called its invasion of Ukraine a special campaign to demilitarize and "deny" the country, a justification rejected by Kyiv and the West as propaganda.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has put the country's nuclear deterrence forces on "special" alert.