The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament cautioned that Ukraine was drawing the United States and Europe into a significant global conflict and urged Western leaders to act responsibly to prevent a catastrophe.
President Vladimir Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine has sparked the most severe deterioration in relations between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Russia is currently making advances along the front line in Ukraine.
“The Kyiv regime is dragging the United States and European countries into a big war,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma, who is a close ally of Putin’s and a member of Russia’s Security Council.
He stated that Ukrainian lawmakers were attempting to persuade the United States to authorize Kyiv to use weapons supplied by the U.S. to target Russian territory.
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“This path leads to a tragedy that can affect all of humanity,” Volodin said. “Western politicians need to realise their responsibility and do everything to avoid bringing the situation to a global catastrophe.”
In Kyiv on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, opens new tab said that Washington had “not encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine, but ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it’s going to conduct this war.”
“We’ve been clear about our own policy, but again, these are decisions that Ukraine has to make, Ukraine will make for itself,” Blinken said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by the U.S. State Department.
Ukraine asserts its right to target Russian sites in response to ongoing missile strikes from Russia. The United States has been cautious about its arms being employed in direct strikes on Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, due to broader risks involved.
Both Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden have warned that direct conflict between Russia and the NATO military alliance could potentially escalate into a global conflict.
Russia has cautioned that the use of U.S. and Western weaponry against targets within its borders could lead to heightened tensions, prompting Putin to initiate exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons, partly in response to Western declarations.
“Any use of American and European weapons to attack peaceful cities of the Russian Federation will require the use of more powerful weapons to protect the citizens of our country,” Volodin said.
