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Ukraine’s admission to NATO could trigger a third world war, the Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, warned on Thursday.
In an interview with the Russian state-owned news agency Tass, Venediktov said that NATO itself is fully aware of the consequences of Ukraine being accepted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Ukraine’s application for a fast-track NATO membership is “rather a propaganda move,” Venediktov claimed. “Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three.”
“Apparently, that’s what they are counting on—to create informational noise and draw attention to themselves once again,” Venediktov noted.
“But given that many members of the Kyiv regime are out of touch with reality, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people out there really expect their country to be admitted to NATO,” he said.
Venediktov’s comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month announced he has applied for a fast-track membership for his country to join NATO.
“We are de facto allies. This has already been achieved. De facto, we have already completed our path to NATO. De facto, we have already proven interoperability with the alliance’s standards,” Zelenskyy said in a video on the Telegram app announcing the move.
His application came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated the annexation of four partially occupied regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson.
West a ‘Direct Party to the Conflict’
Venediktov on Thursday also repeated a position that has been continuously pushed by Russia: that the West is directly involved in the conflict owing to the help it has provided to Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
“We are also aware that, despite statements about not being involved in the events in Ukraine, the real actions taken by Westerners show that they are a direct party to the conflict,” Venediktov said.
Ukraine’s accession to NATO will “automatically give the West’s involvement [in the conflict] a new quality, the fifth article will come into effect,” he said, adding that members of NATO understand the “suicidal nature” of doing so.
On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen implored donors to provide more financial aid to Ukraine to ensure its government stays afloat amid its ongoing war with Russia.
Speaking at the Second Ministerial Roundtable Discussion for Support to Ukraine in Washington, D.C., IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the country needs between $3 billion and $4 billion a month in financial help to ensure its government does not collapse.
Yellen also asked financial donors to “keep stepping up” and providing more money to the war-torn country, while noting that the Biden administration will continue to provide financial assistance to Ukraine through 2023.
On Monday, President Joe Biden promised Zelenskyy that Washington will supply Ukraine with advanced air defense systems so that it can defend itself against Russian attacks.
