MOSCOW: Russia said the West was playing with fire by considering allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with Western missiles and warned the United States on Tuesday that World War III would not be confined to Europe.
Russia’s veteran Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in a statement, criticized the West for potentially escalating the Ukraine conflict and described Western actions as “asking for trouble” amid discussions about loosening restrictions on foreign-supplied weapons.
Lavrov’s comments followed Ukraine’s recent assault on Russia’s western Kursk region, which represents the most significant foreign attack on Russian soil since World War II. The attack, which occurred on August 6, saw Ukrainian forces carve out a portion of Russian territory, prompting a strong response from Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will respond appropriately to the incursion. Lavrov’s remarks underscored Moscow’s concern that increased Western involvement could trigger a wider conflict.
“We are now confirming once again that playing with fire – and they are like small children playing with matches – is a very dangerous thing for grown-up uncles and aunts who are entrusted with nuclear weapons in one or another Western country,” Lavrov said.
The Kremlin has long warned of the risks of a broader conflict involving nuclear powers, though it has also maintained that Russia does not seek a direct conflict with NATO. Lavrov added that the United States and its allies seem to believe that a potential Third World War would be confined to Europe, a notion he criticized as dangerously simplistic.
In response to the Kursk attack, which Ukraine has acknowledged using US HIMARS missiles to strike strategic targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russian threats as bluffs. Zelenskyy argued that Ukrainian capabilities are constrained by restrictions imposed by Western allies and called for a more decisive approach from them to support Kyiv in the ongoing war.
Russian officials have claimed that Western weaponry, including British tanks and US rocket systems, has been employed by Ukraine in its operations in Kursk. Kyiv has confirmed the use of US missiles to target key infrastructure in the region.
Despite these claims, the US government has stated that it was not informed about Ukraine’s plans for the Kursk operation and has denied involvement in the attack.
Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed skepticism about Western assertions that the US and its allies had no direct role in the Kursk assault.
Ryabkov labeled the involvement of Western countries as “an obvious fact,” citing reports that the US and Britain provided Ukraine with satellite imagery and other intelligence to monitor Russian reinforcements in the region.
The New York Times reported that this intelligence was intended to help Ukraine track and respond to Russian movements more effectively. The US and British governments have not commented on the specifics of these reports but maintain that they did not participate directly in the operation.
