Putin Issues a Terrifying Threat in Retaliation for NATO Weapons Shipments to Ukraine
Louis Seagray
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NATO countries have sent arms to Ukraine’s beleaguered government in response to Russia’s invasion. If other countries intervene in the crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that they will face “consequences larger than any of you have encountered in history.”
Whether or not he is discussing a nuclear option is not known.
Russia is ramping up its threats against NATO members, claiming that weapons supplies to Ukraine might be considered “legitimate military targets.” If Russia follows through on its threat to strike NATO military shipments, it may be considered a declaration of war against the US and NATO members.
Some experts believe this would be a direct strike on NATO assets-and Putin has indicated that this is not an unacceptable option.
Despite Ukraine’s lack of NATO membership, Western countries are arming the former Soviet satellite in its war against Russia.
“We warned the US that the coordinated pumping of weapons from a number of nations is not only risky, but it turns these convoys into legal targets,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated on state television.
“The implications of the reckless delivery to Ukraine of weapons like man-portable air defense systems, anti-tank missile systems, and so on,” he added, adding that Moscow had warned.Ryabkov stated that the US had disregarded Moscow’s warnings and that the two countries were not involved in any “conversation processes” over Ukraine.
After Russia bombed the army base in Yavoriv, Zelensky warns that NATO will be drawn into a conflict.
“If you do not close our sky, it is only a matter of time before Russian missiles fall on your territory, on NATO territory, on the homes of NATO citizens,” Zelensky said in a video address, according to news agency AFP.
“Last year, I clearly warned NATO leaders that if there were no harsh preventive sanctions against the Russian Federation, it would go to war. We were right,” he further added.
When Russia unleashed high-precision, long-range weaponry against the Yavoriv International Centre for Peacekeeping and Security, 134 people were injured and 35 perished. According to the news agency Reuters, another facility in the village of Starichi was also assaulted.
Russia also acknowledged that the strikes were launched after it warned on Saturday that it would target Western military supplies to Ukraine. The strike also claimed the lives of 180 foreign mercenaries and a substantial number of foreign weapons, according to Reuters, quoting defense ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. According to the report, the attack destroyed a substantial number of weapons supplied by foreign countries.
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