Moscow (TIP): Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, warned NATO on January 19 that the defeat of Russia in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war.

Striking a similar tone at what he described as an anxious time for the country, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said trying to destroy Russia would mean the end of the world.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Medvedev has repeatedly raised the threat of a nuclear apocalypse, but his admission now of the possibility of Russia’s defeat indicates the level of Moscow’s concern over increased Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

“The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war,” Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Putin’s powerful security council, said in a post on Telegram.

Medvedev said NATO and other defence leaders, due to meet at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday to talk about strategy and support for the West’s attempt to defeat Russia in Ukraine, should think about the risks of their policy.

Meanwhile, European Union chairman Charles Michel met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss EU support for Ukraine as it fights a Russian invasion, as well as reforms needed for Ukraine to join the EU after the conflict ends.

Britain plans to send 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine to support the country in its fight against Russia, defence secretary Ben Wallace said on Thursday.

Putin casts Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine as an existential battle with an aggressive and arrogant West, and has said that Russia would use all available means to protect itself and its people from the prevailing western threat. — Reuters