Urusi maji shingoni Ukraine.
Russia's top diplomat said in a TV interview with state media late Monday that NATO "in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy."
The big picture: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also warned against provoking a third world war and said the threat of a nuclear conflict "should not be underestimated," according to a transcript from Russia's Foreign Ministry.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that Lavrov's comments showed that the Kremlin had lost its "last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine."
- "Thus the talk of a 'real' danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine," he added. "Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security."
Of note: Lavrov's comments came hours after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
said Russia was "failing" in its war aims and Ukraine was "succeeding" and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin added that he believed Ukrainian troops could defeat the invading forces "if they have the right equipment, the right support."