Russia has warned that Ukraine is trying to rope the United States into a third world war, according to Newsweek. The remarks came as Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. rejected the claims that the country is planning on targeting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
Ambassador Anatoly Antonov tried to make an appeal to supporters of Ukraine by arguing against escalation. He said that the failure of Kiev to make advances on the battlefield is a pretext for them to try to get NATO forces deployed, which will create a larger war.
“American and European citizens are hardly ready to march in orderly rows to the hell, into which the Zelensky government is dragging the entire planet,” he stated.
Both Russia and Ukraine are accusing the other of orchestrating a false-flag operation to lure others into war. Zelensky’s claims that Russia placed explosives on top of the facility was contradicted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) when it said that nothing of the sort was detected.
But Zelensky doubled down and told CNN that he has documents which detail Russia’s plans to sabotage the plant. He then railed against the IAEA by saying that they do not have the people to detect such devices.
The U.S. appears to be backing Ukraine, reiterating remarks that Russia is being irresponsible with the ZNPP. A State Department spokesperson then issued Russia a warning, saying that blowing up the plant will result in international action. He added that the country should just give up control of the plant back to Ukraine.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal reportedly proposed a resolution that would lure the United States into war if Russia provokes Ukraine with nuclear weapons. Antonov pushed back against the resolution, arguing that Russia has done nothing contrary to what the the U.S. has been doing for decades.
