Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused Western politicians of considering nuclear war, one week after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine ."It is clear that World War Three can only be nuclear," Lavrov said in an online interview with Russian and foreign media. "I would like to point out that it's in the heads of Western politicians that the idea of a nuclear war is spinning constantly, and not in the heads of Russians," he said. "Therefore I assure you that we will not allow any provocations to throw us off balance," Lavrov added.
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's nuclear forces be put on high alert, accusing the West of taking "unfriendly" steps against his country. Earlier, Sergei Lavrov said that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive. .According to a Reuters report, Lavrov said Russia would face a “real danger” if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons, adding it would not allow the latter to obtain the same. The Kremlin launched a military offensive in Ukraine last week and has been bombarding its cities amid widespread global condemnation and unprecedented sanctions by the West. Russia has called its invasion of Ukraine a special operation to demilitarise and "denazify" the country, a justification dismissed by Kyiv and the West as propaganda.