WWIII if Ukraine joins Nato, warns Russia

GBNEWS24DESK//

The admission of Ukraine to Nato could result in a third world war, Moscow warned yesterday, as Russian missiles pounded more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns and Nato allies unveiled plans to beef up Europe’s air defences.

“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three,” TASS cited the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, as saying.

Fourteen European allies yesterday signed up to a German plan to buy new air defence systems together, as Nato looks to bolster its ability to deal with the threat from Russia.

“We are living in threatening, dangerous times,” said German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht at the signing ceremony where Germany and European Nato members committed to jointly procuring weapons for a “European Sky Shield” to better protect their territory.

Moscow renewed warnings that more military aid for Kyiv agreed earlier this week at the Nato meeting made members of the US-led military alliance “a direct party to the conflict.”

Nato is not likely to quickly allow Ukraine to join, not least because its membership during an ongoing war would put the United States and allies into direct conflict with Russia under the alliance’s collective defence clause.

Ahead of the meeting of Nato’s defence ministers, including close-door talks by its nuclear planning group, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend “every inch” of members’ territory.

Even before the invasion, Nato had dragged its feet on Ukrainian membership. Shortly after Russia’s assault began Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signalled he was willing to consider neutrality.

Zelensky has since asked for fast-track membership, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed partially occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as Russian land on September 30.

The annexation sparked international outrage. On Wednesday the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted condemning it as “illegal”.

In the past 24 hours, Russian missiles hit more than 40 settlements, while Ukrainian air force carried out 32 strikes on 25 Russian targets, reports Reuters.

The southern port city of Mykolaiv came under massive bombardment. “It is known that a number of civilian objects were hit,” regional governor Vitaly Kim said in a social media post.