Russia’s New WW3 Threat: The West’s Growing Involvement in the War in Ukraine Creates the Risk of ‘Direct Confrontation’ Between Nuclear Powers, Kremlin Defense Minister Warns

The increasing involvement of the West in Ukraine creates the risk of a direct confrontation between nuclear powers, the Russian Defense Minister has sharply warned.

Andrei Belousov made the thinly veiled threat Wednesday during a meeting between the defense ministries of Russia and Belarus in Minsk.

Belousov said: “The growing involvement of Western countries in the conflict in Ukraine creates global risks.

“The desire to inflict maximum damage on Russia could lead to a direct military clash between nuclear powers.”

Belousov, who was appointed to his post in May, said at the same meeting that Russia is now preparing for the possibility of using nuclear weapons if a state attacks its ally Belarus.

He said: ‘Changes in the military-political situation have necessitated the clarification of the basic principles of the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence. And its adaptation to new realities.

“In particular, the possibility of using nuclear weapons in response to aggression against Belarus as a member of the Union State is being considered.”

Belousov’s startling comments come as Russia hosts some 20 world leaders for the BRICS summit, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who arrived this morning for his first visit in more than two years to the country that has drawn scorn from Ukraine .

The meeting is Russia’s largest diplomatic forum since it launched a massive military offensive against Ukraine in 2022, and President Vladimir Putin wants to use it to demonstrate that efforts to isolate him on the world stage have failed.

Moscow sees the platform as an alternative to Western-led international organizations such as the G7 – a position supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

During bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin praised Moscow’s close ties and “strategic partnerships” with its partners.

Xi, meanwhile, praised China’s “deep” ties with Russia in what he called a “chaotic” world.

Relations between Russia and China have “provided a strong impetus to the development, revitalization and modernization of the two countries,” Xi said.

Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation for global “stability.”

“Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs serves as one of the stabilizing factors in the global arena. We intend to further enhance coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order,” he told Xi.

Kiev has commented on Guterres’ trip, while the Foreign Ministry wrote on X: ‘The UN Secretary General has rejected Ukraine’s invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. He did accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin.’

Guterres’ spokesman said the trip was part of the UN chief’s regular presence at “organizations with a large number of key member states”, saying it provided an opportunity to “reaffirm his well-known positions” on the conflict in Ukraine ‘and the conditions for a just peace.’

The BRICS conference comes as Ukrainian officials admitted that Russian troops have crossed a key waterway in the eastern Ukrainian stronghold of Chasiv Yar, marking a setback for Kiev’s armed forces.

The town of Khasiv Yar, estimated to have a population of around 12,000 before the war, sits on a strategic hilltop and its capture would likely accelerate Russia’s advance deeper into the war-torn Donetsk region.

“The enemy has managed to penetrate our defense line, but there is no critical failure and we are not about to lose Chasiv Yar. There is heavy fighting now,” a spokesman for Ukraine’s 24th Brigade told state media.

Spokesman Ivan Petrychak said that while Russian troops had crossed the canal on the eastern edge of the city, Ukrainian forces held off the advance.

Russian troops have deployed against outnumbered Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region, which the Kremlin says is part of Russia.

If Moscow takes the city, it would threaten some of the largest population centers in the industrial region, such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

There have been sporadic reports that Russian troops have previously crossed the canal, which serves as a de facto front line, in Khasiv Yar, and Ukraine claims to have fought them back.

Russian drone and artillery strikes have meanwhile killed five people, including a child, in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Donetsk, officials said on Tuesday.

Sumy lies across the border from Kursk in Russia, where Ukrainian forces launched a major offensive in August and control parts of the territory.