Is the third world war imminent?! Russia is not hiding anything: One step is enough to escalate tensions – Novy Čas

According to a leading Russian official, the admission of Ukraine to NATO could lead to the third world war. The Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, said this in an interview with the TASS agency on Thursday, from which the Sky News news station quotes. “Kiev is well aware that such a move would mean a guaranteed escalation to the third world war,” Venediktov said. “(Ukrainians) are obviously counting on it – they will create information noise and draw attention to themselves again,” he added. In addition, Venediktov repeated the Russian claim that the West is “directly participating in this conflict” through its aid to Ukraine. The West rejects these accusations, saying that it is only helping Ukraine to defend itself against unprovoked Russian aggression. On September 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy surprisingly announced that Kyiv had applied for accelerated accession to NATO. This happened immediately after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on the annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and parts of Kherson and Zaporozhye regions to Russia. He did so on the basis of controversial referendums that took place in these areas. The international community does not recognize referendums or annexation of areas.