The speaker of the lower house of Russia’s parliament warned today that Ukraine was “dragging the United States and Europe” into a major global war, and urged Western leaders to act responsibly to avoid a catastrophe.
His comments come as Russian troops continue to seize territory in eastern Ukraine, forcing thousands of people in Kharkiv to flee their homes after Moscow launched another ground invasion in the region.
“The Kiev regime is dragging the United States and European countries into a big war,” said Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, a close ally of Putin and a member of Russia’s Security Council.
He said Ukrainian lawmakers were trying to convince the United States to allow kyiv to use U.S.-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory.
“This path leads to a tragedy that can affect all of humanity,” Volodin said. “Western politicians must take responsibility and do everything possible to avoid escalating the situation into a global catastrophe.”
Putin’s parliamentary chairman Vyacheslav Volodin
Yars ICBM launched from airfield during military exercises in Russia
Ukrainian servicemen of the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade prepare for combat with the Challenger 2 tank at an undisclosed location near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region.
President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine triggered the worst breakdown in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
In kyiv on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had “neither encouraged nor allowed attacks outside Ukraine, but ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it is going to conduct this war.” .
“We have been clear about our own policy, but again, these are decisions that Ukraine has to make and Ukraine will make for itself,” Blinken said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by the US State Department. .
Ukraine says it has the right to attack Russian targets as it is attacked daily by Russian missiles.
But the United States has been cautious about using its weapons in a direct attack on Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, because of the broader risks.
Putin and US President Joe Biden have warned that a direct confrontation between Russia and the US-led NATO military alliance could trigger World War III.
Russia has warned that the use of American and Western weapons against targets inside Russia could trigger a new level of confrontation, and Putin has ordered tactical exercises using nuclear weapons, partly in response to Western statements.
Ukrainian service members from the 37th Marine Brigade fire a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer toward Russian troops, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
British soldiers stay inside armored vehicles as they cross the Vistula River during the NATO military defense exercises DRAGON-24 on March 5, 2024.
Leading Soldier from Company B, 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, looks around the corner of the trench during the Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX) phase of Exercise Rapid Response on May 4, 2024 .
“Any use of American and European weapons to attack peaceful cities of the Russian Federation will require the use of more powerful weapons to protect the citizens of our country,” Volodin said.
His remarks come as his colleague Dmitry Medvedev engaged in more saber-rattling and mocked Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
Medvedev, who was Russian president when David Cameron became prime minister in 2010, warned the Foreign Secretary that he was risking his nuclear power over his promise to Ukraine that they could use British missiles to attack Russia.
He mocked his peer for trying to “fight Putin to the end” and called him an “imbecile” for his comments.
Cameron had previously said Ukraine was free to decide how to use weapons supplied by Britain.
“In terms of what the Ukrainians do, in our opinion, it is their decision on how to use these weapons, they are defending their country, they were illegally invaded by Putin and they must take those measures,” he said.
This appeared to change the idea that Western long-range missiles would be used in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, but not in Russia itself.
A video screenshot shows the Borei K-535 Yuri Dolgoruky-class nuclear-powered submarine after launching an RSM-56 Bulava ballistic missile into the Barents Sea.
Borei K-535 Yuri Dolgoruky-class nuclear submarine launches RSM-56 Bulava ballistic missile in the Barents Sea
Deputy head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (right) rattled even more sabers over Ukraine and mocked British Foreign Secretary David Cameron (left).
‘I remember this guy quite well. I worked with him when he became prime minister,” Medvedev said of Cameron.
‘A dull, ordinary British bloke. At the time he was blithely stupid and looked like a young devil reveling in his unexpectedly acquired position.’
Medvedev alleged that Cameron had told the Ukrainians “you can fire our missiles wherever you want…we, the British, are not afraid of anything, not even a nuclear conflict.”
‘Cool! You shouldn’t be, friend,” Medvedev replied. “I don’t have a decent answer, except for one thing.”
“David, you might want to be careful,” he said, before declining to specify exactly what would happen if British missiles hit Russian territory.
Medvedev was the longest-serving prime minister of modern Russia, and was also Russian president from 2028 to 2012.
He is now Putin’s deputy on the Russian Security Council, which now has former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as secretary.
Putin accused the West last week of risking global conflict and said no one would be allowed to threaten Russia.