By Ben Kerrigan-
An ally of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has warned that the world is probably on the verge of a new world war as the risks of a nuclear battle escalate.
The chilling warning was delivered by Demitry Medvedev is a close ally of Vladimir Putin and made the chilling warning amid rising tensions between the Russia and the West over the Ukraine
“The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev told a conference in Moscow.
He said such a new world war was not inevitable but that the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing – and more serious than concerns about climate change.
It comes as Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the River Dnipro begin frequently carrying out raids on the eastern bank near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday.
Ukraine accused Moscow of deploying the kind of war tactics used in Syria to level Bakhmut, as heavy fighting for control of the salt mining city continues.
“Using the so-called ‘Syrian tactics’ of total destruction of buildings and structures, the enemy in some places has [made] progress at the expense of destroyed objects,” Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maylar said.‘We are on the verge of a new world war,’ Russia’s Medvedev says
An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday that the world was probably on the verge of a new world war, cautioning that the risks of a nuclear confrontation were also rising, though neither scenario was inevitable”.
He said: “The world is sick and is on the edge of the Third World War. And although we tried to avoid war for 30 years, it was imposed on us.”
He added that the threat of climate change was nothing compared to that of nuclear war “which exists today unfortunately”.
“It’s growing with every day for known reasons. The Western world was unfair to our country to a large extent. Did they hear us? No, they didn’t.”
Medvedev went on to warn that Russia was itself prepared to use nuclear weapons.
“The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council, told a conference in Moscow.
He said such a new world war was not inevitable but said the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing – and more serious than concerns about climate change.
He spelt out that Russian doctrine “makes it clear that nuclear weapons may be used if Russia faces an act of aggression involving other types of weapons, which threaten the very existence of the state”.
He added: “In fact, it is about using nuclear weapons in response to such actions.
“Our potential adversaries should not underestimate this.
“All these speculations about how the Russians will never do this are worthless.
“The Western analysts and Western commanders – both military and political leaders – should simply assess our rules and our intentions.”