Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin warns of Russia-Nato clash while stepping up attacks on key Ukrainian region
A senior Kremlin official has said Europe stands on the “edge of an abyss” with the prospect of an uncontrollable conflict between Russia and Nato looming.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comments at a Moscow-based think tank, where he blamed Western countries for threatening the stability of the continent – despite it being Russia who invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Ryabkov said Russia did not intend to attack Europe and “pursue the aggressive goals attributed to our country”, but that it could not ignore the risk of a head-on military conflict between nuclear powers, warning of potentially catastrophic consequences.
While Ryabkov criticised the West – and the Biden administration in particular – Vladimir Putin’s forces stepped up their attacks on Ukraine’s key Black Sea port in Odesa, causing major power outages and threatening maritime infrastructure in the region.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said Russia was carrying out “systematic attacks on port and energy infrastructure”.
