“Danger Of World War III Real”: Russia on Arms Supplies to Ukraine in 2022
Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Moscow’s invasion of their neighbour has somehow triggered an outburst of support from all Western countries that have seen weapons pour into the country. Kyiv: Russia has warned of World War III’s “real” threat breaking out ahead of a Tuesday meeting between the United States and allies over sending other arms to war-torn Ukraine.
But Western powers have been completely reluctant to deepen their involvement for fear of sparking a conflict against nuclear-armed Russia.
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Then speaking to Russian news agencies, Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the risk of World War III “is serious” and criticised Kyiv’s approach to floundering hope talks.
“It is authentic. You cannot underestimate it,” Lavrov has stated.
For a few months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been asking Ukraine’s Western allies for heavy weapons, like artillery and fighter, for vowing his forces that could turn the tide of the war with more firepower.
The calls feel to be resonating now somewhere, with a host of NATO countries pledging to provide a range of equipment and heavy weapons, even after the constant protests from Moscow.
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On a major trip to Kyiv, the Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Zelensky and promised them $700 million in new aid to Ukraine.
“This was the first step in winning and believing that you can win,” Austin told a group of journalists after meeting the Ukrainian leader.
“We believe that we can win, and they can win if they have the right equipment, weapons, and support.”
And on the invitation from the United States, 40 countries will hold a security summit in Germany on Tuesday to discuss further arms to Ukraine and ensure the country’s longer-term safety and security once the war is entirely over.
The invited countries are the European allies of the United States, Australia, and Japan — who fear that a Russian victory in Ukraine will set a precedent and encourage the territorial ambitions of China.
Finland and Sweden — traditionally neutral countries for the NATO membership since Russia’s made their invasion of Ukraine which is on the guest list.
Destruction and Death
But far from the diplomatic bustle and hustle, on the frontline, civilians continue to die in fighting to rage across war-torn Ukraine.
There were at least five people killed, and then 18 others were wounded on Monday after a Russian rocket attack targeted railway infrastructure in the central Ukraine part of Vinnytsia.
Alexander Kamyshin, the head of Ukrainian Railways, had earlier declared the attacks, accusing Moscow’s army of “systematically” destroying railway infrastructure.
There were dozens of people killed earlier this month. In Russian strikes on a train station that was used for evacuations in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.
Ukraine is the second city, Kharkiv, which stays partially surrounded, and Moscow’s forces are regrouping in the south. Still, the ministry added that a Russian attempt to break through towards Zaporizhzhia in the east failed.
In Kharkiv, which has faced a daily barrage of Russian rocket attacks since the war began over three months ago — children spoke to AFP about the bombings, their everyday life and hopes for peacetime.
“I miss my kickboxing dance classes and training,” was asserted Alina, 9, who was forced to sleep in an underground car park.
“Victory that would make happy. The war won’t end right away, but it will in a few weeks, I made a hope.”
On Monday, the governor of a Russian area bordering Ukraine accused Kyiv of bombing one of their villages, injuring two of their civilians and damaging several areas and houses.
“A village was targeted. It is already seen that there are many injured civilians,” Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has written on Telegram.
Russia, in recent weeks, has accused the Ukrainian forces of striking targets on the grounds of Russian soil, including two of their villages in Belgorod and another in the region of Bryansk.
Moscow has accused Kyiv of preventing its civilians trapped with Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks area from leaving the besieged industrial complex even after an announcement of a ceasefire.
The Russian defence ministry had stated clearly that it would allow a civilian evacuation from Mariupol’s sprawling steel plant, sheltering the remaining Ukrainian resistance in the southeastern port city.
But the Russian army on Monday evening stated that no one used the proposed humanitarian corridor.
“The Kyiv authorities have cynically undermined this situation of humanitarian process,” it said, putting acquisitions on the Ukrainian government for “indifference” towards their citizens.
International crimes
40 German diplomats will meanwhile be heading home from Russia after Moscow announced its expulsion, following Berlin’s decision to kick out the 40 Russian diplomats earlier in April.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor from Hague is joining an EU investigations team to probe “alleged the core international crimes committed in Ukraine”, officials claimed.
The chief prosecutor then visited the town of Bucha. The scene of civilian killings that Ukraine blamed on Russian forces was almost two weeks ago, and then Russia did not take any responsibility for the number of deaths.
“Ukraine is a complete crime scene. We’re all here because we have valid grounds to believe and hope that crimes in the court’s jurisdiction are being committed,” Karim Khan stated at the time.
Meanwhile, the IMF warned that all Asian nations, like the rest of the world, are being battered by the war because Russia is invading Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow, driving up fuel and food prices globally.
“This is a challenging time for all the policymakers because they try to address the pressures on growth and tackle the rising inflation,” IMF official Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf has written in a blog.
And the UN is set to vote on Tuesday on a resolution that would need the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto later in time.
“It is not directed against Russia,” stated co-sponsor Liechtenstein‘s ambassador Christian Wenaweser. The proposal was on the ice for more than two years. Its revival has come because the Security Council has proven incapable of condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because of Moscow’s veto power.
But its application “will shed good light” on the use of the veto right and the “blockages” in the Security Council, said one ambassador, on condition of anonymity.
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“Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared. A day after, he and the US secretary of defence made a bold visit to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Blinken said Washington approved a USD 165 million sale of ammunition – non-US ammo, mainly if not entirely for Ukraine’s Soviet-era weapons – and will provide more than USD 300 million in financing to buy more supplies.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took his comments further, saying that while the US wants to see Ukraine remain a sovereign, democratic country, it wants “to see Russia weakened to the point where it can’t do things like invade Ukraine.”
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
