Russia would face a \u2018real danger\u2019 if Ukraine acquired nuclear weapons, says Russian foreign minister
\n MOSCOW
\nRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, the RIA news agency reported. Lavrov has said that Russia, which launched what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last week, would face a \u201creal danger\u201d if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons.
\nA week after launching its invasion of Ukraine, Russia said its forces took control the first sizable city on Wednesday, seizing Kherson, in the south, as fighting raged around the country and Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia.
\nMore than half a million Ukrainians have fled the fighting since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of his southern neighbour nearly a week ago.
\nRussian bombardments of Ukrainian cities continued, with video posted on social media showing heavily damaged buildings around the second city of Kharkiv.
\nOn Tuesday, Lavrov told a Geneva disarmament meeting that Ukraine has been seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a \u201creal danger\u201d that needed a Russian response.
\n\u201cToday the dangers that (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskiy\u2019s regime pose for neighbouring countries and international security in general have increased substantially after the authorities set up in Kyiv have embarked upon dangerous games related to plans to acquire their own nuclear weapons,\u201d the Russian foreign minister told the Conference on Disarmament in a video address.
\n\u201cUkraine still has Soviet nuclear technologies and the means of delivery of such weapons. We cannot fail to respond to this real danger,\u201d he said, also calling for Washington to rebase its nuclear weapons from Europe.
\nHe delivered the speech to a thin crowd after many diplomats including France and Britain staged a walk-out to protest Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine as they did at a parallel UN meeting in Geneva on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia would face a \u2018real danger\u2019 if Ukraine acquired nuclear weapons, says Russian foreign minister MOSCOW Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive, the RIA news agency reported. Lavrov has said that Russia, which launched what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-247373","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n