40 Nations Support Ukraine As Moscow Warns Of Nuclear Conflict
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Leaders from more than 40 countries showed support for Ukraine at U.S.-led talks at its Ramstein airbase in Germany, while Berlin changed its policy, promising military aid to the war-torn nation.
The German government announced to send 50 anti-aircraft tanks to Ukraine, which battles the Russian military in several parts of the nation.
Germany’s pledge came as U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted a meeting to boost military aid for Ukraine after Russia warned of a nuclear conflict and world war.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that fighting in Ukraine risked escalating into a third world war. He said the Western NATO military allowance was “in essence” engaged in a proxy war with Moscow by supplying Kyiv with weapons.
Lavrov said the risk of a nuclear conflict “must not be underestimated,” adding that any agreement to end Ukraine’s conflict depends mainly on the military situation.
He spoke after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin visited Kyiv and promised more military assistance to Ukraine
Yet, undeterred, Austin said Tuesday’s gathering in Germany of dozens of nations “reflects the galvanized world.” Austin stressed that he wanted officials to leave the meeting “with a common and transparent understanding of Ukraine’s near-term security requirements. Because we’re going to keep moving heaven and earth so that we can meet them.”
The weapons couldn’t come soon enough for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who believes Russia is trying to destabilize the situation even beyond Ukraine. He expressed concern about neighboring Moldova, where Russian forces occupy the breakaway Transnistrian region.
ESCALATION FEARED
Ukrainian armed forces are ready for a possible escalation by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Moldova, the Ukrainian president said.
Zelensky discussed the issue with Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv on Tuesday. “We clearly understand that this is one of the steps of the Russian Federation. The special services are working there,” Zelensky added.
“It’s not just about fake news. The goal is obvious – to destabilize the situation in the region, to threaten Moldova. They show that if Moldova supports Ukraine, there will be certain steps,” he said.
A Russian minister refused to rule out Moldova’s breakaway region, Transnistria being drawn into the Ukraine war. The deputy foreign minister, Andrey Rudenko, made clear that
a potential escalation of the conflict to another European country was possible as Moscow “was concerned” over recent explosions in Transnistria.
Back in Ukraine, Moscow now says its focus is the capture of the Donbas, the mostly Russian-speaking industrial region in eastern Ukraine, after failing to capture Kyiv.
In the small city of Toretsk in the Donbas, residents are struggling to survive, collecting rainwater for washing up and fervently hoping for an end to the fighting.
UN APPEAL
The United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, traveled to Moscow in an attempt to put the U.N.at the heart of Ukrainian mediation efforts, including in the besieged city Mariupol.
In a joint press conference with Russia’s foreign minister, Guterres said the U.N. is “ready to fully mobilize its human and logistical resources to help save lives in Mariupol.”
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereschuk, said there was “no point” in the United Nations if there was no real humanitarian corridor from Mariupol.
Zoo animals in Mariupol are also caught in the crossfire of heavy shelling. The zoo’s owner and caretaker decided not to evacuate any animals.
During the heaviest shelling, zoo workers made sure the animals were fed and watered every day, but some had been killed during the strikes. lIt’s bad. Very bad. Hopeless,” said the zoo’s Andriy Cheromushkin. “You feel so helpless that you don’t know what you should do or shouldn’t do. Because if you want to do something, you need some money, and there is no money now.”
Besides shelling sites, Russia also hit NATO and European Union members Poland and Bulgaria by cutting off natural gas supplies Wednesday. Moscow demands they pay in rubles in reaction to Western sanctions. Nearby, Hungary, another eastern EU and NATO member state heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies said it is ready to pay in rubles for deliveries despite EU criticism.
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