Ukraine Joining NATO Would Spark ‘World War III’, Threatens Russia

Allowing Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would result in a “guaranteed escalation to World War Three”, Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Venediktov said on Thursday.

Following last month’s annexation of four breakaway regions in the Donbas region of Easter Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky requested a “fast-tracked” admission into the US-led NATO military alliance.

In an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS, Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Venediktov said that he believed the accession request from Ukraine was nothing more than a “propaganda move”.

However, should Ukraine actually be accepted into the Western alliance, Venediktov said that “Kiev is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to World War Three.”