An ardent ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday warned NATO allies that a Russian defeat in Ukraine could provoke a nuclear war.
“The loss of a nuclear power plant in a conventional war can provoke the start of a nuclear war,” he said in a Telegram post, as Western officials gathered for another meeting with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
“Have nuclear powers [never] lost major conflicts on which their fate depends,” added the Kremlin official.
Ukrainian tankers conduct maintenance on their tanks on the Donbass frontline as military mobility continues amid the Russo-Ukrainian war on Wednesday. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Agency Anadolu via Getty Images)
PUTIN CLAIMS THAT ‘CERTAIN’ VICTORY IN UKRAINE WILL END CONFLICT AS WAR NEARS 1-YEAR MARK
Medvedev, who was also President of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons.
His comments on Russia’s theoretical defeat in Ukraine may show that the Kremlin is increasingly concerned about winning Putin’s war as Western support for Kyiv continues to grow.
The US is expected to announce another $3 billion defense aid package for Ukraine on Friday after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with allies in Germany, several US officials told Fox News.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he had “no doubt” that Moscow would emerge victorious despite military setbacks in the nearly year-long offensive in Ukraine. (ILYA PITALEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
The announcement came just two weeks after Washington pledged a separate $3 billion package and pledged to send Bradley Fighting Vehicles and other combat-ready military vehicles such as Armored Personnel Carriers, Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly asked allied nations to send tanks to support his troops on the front lines, particularly in Donbass, although Abrams M1 tanks are still unlikely to be included in the latest package.
Stryker armored fighting vehicles, artillery and additional ammunition are expected to be among the latest supplies to be announced by Washington on Friday.
Britain, France and Poland have pledged to send tanks to Ukraine as the US and Germany face mounting pressure to meet Zelenskyy’s demands for what is needed at the front.
A Ukrainian soldier drives a tank on the Donbass frontline as military mobility continues amid the Russo-Ukrainian war on Wednesday. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Agency Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Germany faced renewed international anger this week after hinting it would only send tanks to Ukraine if the US did the same.
“Here are times when we shouldn’t hesitate or not compare. When someone says, ‘I give tanks when someone else also shares tanks.’ I don’t think that’s the right strategy,” Zelenskyy said in a video conference in Davos on Thursday, DW reported.
Caitlin McFall is a reporter at Fox News Digital covering politics, US and world news.