Senior Russian lawmakers said on Sunday that any Ukrainian strike on Russia using American missiles could lead to World War III. Reuters I mentioned.
Washington’s decision to allow Kiev to strike deep into Russia with long-range American missiles led to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Two American officials and a source familiar with the decision revealed the major shift in Washington’s policy in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict earlier on Sunday.
“The West has decided on such a level of escalation that could end with the complete destruction of the Ukrainian state by morning,” Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, said via the messaging app Telegram.
Vladimir Dzhabarov, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Senate’s International Affairs Committee, said Moscow’s response would be immediate.
“This is a big step towards the beginning of World War III.” TASS The state news agency quoted Dzhabarov as saying.
President Vladimir Putin said last September that the West would fight Russia directly if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would change the nature and scope of the conflict.
Russia will be forced to make what Putin called “appropriate decisions” based on new threats.
Russian news agencies quoted Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma’s lower house of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, as saying that a US authorization to strike Russia using US tactical ATACMS missiles would trigger the harshest response.
He added, “American missile strikes deep into Russian areas will inevitably lead to a dangerous escalation that threatens to have much more serious consequences.” TASS The news agency quoted Slutsky as saying.