Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at UNGA-79
United Nations, New York (Sept 28, 2024) —Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued a new nuclear warning during the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly on Saturday, as he told Washington, D.C., to prepare Europe for a “suicide venture.”
Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, tensions between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries and the Kremlin have continued as NATO leaders have increasingly warned that direct conflict with Moscow is a realistic danger as it has more nuclear warheads than any other country, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. This comes after Putin and senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation against Kyiv and its Western partners since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Tass, a Russian state news agency, Lavrov, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, warned Washington, D.C. as well as London to prepare for a “suicide venture” pointing out the “pointlessness and danger of the very idea to fight to victory with a nuclear power like Russia.”
“A goal has been declared to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia – almost like London and Washington planned in May 1945 as they developed ‘Operation Unthinkable’ on destruction of the Soviet Union even before the end of World War II. Back then, it was a closely held secret. The Anglo-Saxon strategists of today, however, make no secret of their intentions. So far, they expect to defeat Russia with the hands of the illegitimate neo-Nazi Kiev regime, but they already prepare Europe to leap into a suicide venture as well,” the Lavrov said.
The Kremlin has repeatedly attempted to justify its invasion by claiming a “neo-Nazi regime” is in charge in Kyiv. This has been emphatically rejected by Ukraine and the international community.
Lavrov added on Saturday: “Equally pointless is the mantra of Kiev’s Western masters about the lack of alternative for talks based on the notorious peace formula.”
Putin upped the ante of his rhetoric on Wednesday with changes to Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, which could include responding to a massive launch of missiles or drones crossing its state border.
According to Reuters, the 2020 nuclear doctrine says Russia may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.
Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s defense ministry, the U.S. Department of Defense and the European Defense Agency via email for comment.
While no countries were mentioned, the war has seen an increase in Ukraine’s use of American, British and French missiles on Russian targets.
Ukraine has pressed hard for the U.S. and the United Kingdom to drop their prohibition on American ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to be used to target Russian territory amid concerns that Kyle’s use would escalate the conflict.
