Russia and Belarus ready to act over 'European escalation' around Ukraine, Kremlin spy chief says
Russia and Belarus are ready to act preemptively over increased military escalation from European countries over Ukraine, the head of Russia's foreign spy service chief said Tuesday, according to state media.
'We feel and see that European countries, especially France, Great Britain and Germany, are increasing the level of escalation around the Ukrainian conflict. Therefore, we need to act preemptively. We are ready for this,' Sergei Naryshkin was quoted as saying by both the TASS and RIA news agencies.
In the event of an attack on Russia or Belarus, Russia would retaliate against NATO as a whole, but that Poland and the Baltic states would suffer first, he added.
Those countries should understand that 'in the event of aggression' from NATO 'damage will certainly be inflicted on the entire NATO bloc, but to a greater extent the first to suffer will be the bearers of such ideas in the political circles of Poland and the Baltic countries,' Naryshkin said.
His comments came days after Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy leading talks with the Kremlin, met with President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, amid American attempts to broker a ceasefire in the war that entered its fourth year in February.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also warned Sunday that Putin could attempt to seize NATO territory if he is not stopped in Ukraine.
'If we do not stand firm, he will advance further,' Zelensky said during an interview broadcast on CBS, adding that Putin's long-term objectives included restoring the Russian empire that would include parts of NATO-allied countries.
'Considering all of this, I believe it could escalate into a world war,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
27 minutes ago
- NBC News
How Israel's Iran strikes might open 'Pandora's box' for the region — and the U.S.
If Iran did decide to retaliate against American interests, that would likely mean some form of 'major creep' into Iraq or the Gulf, Geranmayeh, at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told NBC News. And that's less likely, according to her and other analysts, because of the rapprochement between Tehran and previous foes such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar in recent years. Despite Israel's overwhelming military superiority, Netanyahu could be in a tricky spot, as he does not have the capabilities to eliminate Iran's nuclear facilities alone, according to Dina Esfandiary, the Middle East geoeconomics lead for Bloomberg Economics, Bloomberg's internal research division. With its U.S.-funded armed forces, Israel 'can do considerable damage' she said. 'But it can't be successful' in its stated objective of 'crippling Iran's nuclear program' without 'the U.S. coming on board,' Esfandiary said. Principally, it doesn't have the means to target the deeply buried underground facilities of Iran's nuclear program, experts say. In short, as Rouzbeh Parsi, director of the Middle East program at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, put it on X: 'Israel has always been capable of starting this war. But it has been equally clear that it cannot finish it on its own.'
Scotsman
29 minutes ago
- Scotsman
How the UK could get dragged further into conflict in the Middle East
The Israeli assault on Iran should come as no surprise - there was hardly a better moment to strike Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As the whole world knows by now, Israel launched a series of devastating attacks on Iran in the early hours of Friday, targeting nuclear facilities and the regime's leadership. Operation Rising Lion seems to have caught the Iranians wrong-footed. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Two hundred IAF warplanes were involved, and most interestingly a number of drones were launched by Israeli special forces from within Iran itself, in a pastiche of the Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian airbases a few days ago. Initial battlefield damage assessment suggests that the attacks were highly successful, although the full details will probably take some time to emerge. Amongst others, the head of the Iranian Republican Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and Mohammad Bagheri, commander-in-chief of Iran's military, plus several senior figures in Iran's nuclear programme were killed. People look over damage to buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes in Tehran, Iran. Iran's three top military generals were killed in the attacks that also targeted nuclear and military facilities | Majid Saeedi At a stroke Iran's senior military hierarchy has been eliminated. That Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameni was not among them is only down to Israel, who probably thought his demise might be a step too far at this stage. The Israeli assault should come as no surprise to anyone. Iran is the fount of all evil in the region, and the writing has been on the wall for some time. The recent IAEA censure of Iran's nuclear programme and the withdrawal of some US personnel in the Middle East were dead giveaways. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Israel made no secret of its assessment that currently Iran is politically and militarily weak, and there was hardly a better moment to strike its nuclear facilities and leadership. And so it has come to pass. Where USA goes, UK will surely follow This episode in the long-running conflict between Israel and Iran looks like it might be a longer confrontation than previous ones. If it continues for any length of time, and if Iran carries through its threat to attack US bases as well as Israel in retaliation, then it seems to me inevitable that the USA will be drawn in. And where the USA goes the UK will surely follow. During the last tit-for-tat exchanges between the two Middle Eastern states RAF Typhoons were involved in knocking down incoming Iranian drones to defend Israel. I'd be most surprised if the same thing doesn't happen this time around. A woman chants slogans as people gather for a protest against Israel's wave of strikes on Iran in Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran | AFP via Getty Images In any case, and notwithstanding what David Lammy may say, the UK is already involved. Britain's retained bases in Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean include RAF Akrotiri, which is an important link in the communications chain to Israel and used by the UK, USA, and others for many years. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Plus it just so happens that the Royal Navy-led CSG25 task force, including aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and her complement of F-35 fighter jets, is not so far away in the India Ocean and within range of Iran. And the Americans have long-range bombers on Diego Garcia. To survive Iran needs to stop being intransigent over its nuclear problem and compromise or else face the very real prospect of defeat and regime change.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Catastrophic floods kill dozens in South Africa as photos show receding waters revealing more bodies
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
