Russia: "Serious Risk of World War III... NATO Proxy War Through Ukraine" (Summary)

Russia "Demands US Stop Supplying Weapons to Ukraine"
Explosion at Russian Fuel Depot Near Ukraine Border
Western Weapon Support Railway Attacked...Concerns of Escalation

Smoke is rising from an oil storage facility in Bryansk, western Russia, near the Ukrainian border, due to a fire on the 25th (local time). The facility is owned by a subsidiary of Transneft, which operates Russia's pipeline to Europe. Some claim that this is not a simple fire but an explosion caused by a counterattack from the Ukrainian military. It is not yet known whether this fire will affect oil transportation. Bryansk (Russia) = AP · Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunwoo Lee and Hyunui Cho] The Russian Foreign Minister hinted at the possibility of a Third World War targeting the United States and the West, pressuring them to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine. This is interpreted as a sensitive reaction to Ukraine's counterattacks using Western-supplied weapons and the resulting damage on Russian territory.

On the 25th (local time), Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, said in an interview with Russia's state broadcaster Channel 1, "The risk of a Third World War has reached a serious level and cannot be underestimated," adding, "Russia wants to exclude the threat of nuclear war, but NATO and the United States continue to send weapons to Ukraine, waging a proxy war and worsening the situation."

Along with this, Russia officially demanded the United States to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine. Anatoly Antonov, Russian Ambassador to the United States, said in an interview with Russia's state media Rossiya 24, "We have sent a letter demanding the United States stop supplying weapons to Ukraine," criticizing, "The $800 million worth of weapons the U.S. plans to send to Ukraine is an enormous scale that is unacceptable and will make it difficult to find a diplomatic solution and resolve the situation."

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The reason Russia strongly criticized and demanded the U.S. and the West to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine is interpreted as Ukraine launching fierce counterattacks with the supported weapons.

According to TASS news agency, early that day, two large oil storage facilities caught fire in Bryansk city, Russia, near the Ukrainian border. According to Russian media Baza, local investigators believe the cause of the fire was a missile or combat drone attack by Ukraine. Earlier, on the 1st, Ukrainian forces had attacked an oil storage facility in the border area of Belgorod, Russia, using helicopters.

Despite Russia's strong backlash, the U.S. and Western military support for Ukraine continues to expand. According to CNN, the U.S. State Department announced in a statement that it approved the sale of $165 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine. CNN reported that this ammunition support was delivered to Ukraine during the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Kyiv, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Germany and the United Kingdom also announced support by providing armored vehicles to Ukraine. Steffen Hebestreit, German government spokesperson, said at a press conference, "The German government will soon decide on the export permit application submitted by the defense company Rheinmetall to supply 100 armored vehicles to Ukraine." British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace also told Parliament that "Stormer armored vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft missile launchers will be sent to Ukraine."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There is also speculation that Russia might directly attack Western supplies despite concerns about further escalation. According to The New York Times (NYT), Russian forces attacked five major railway stations in western and central Ukraine, which are key routes for Western weapon supplies, with ballistic missiles. Some analysts suggested that this attack might have targeted Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin, who secretly visited Ukraine via the railway.

Dmitry Gorenburg, a Russian expert at the U.S. Naval Analysis Center (CNA), explained in an interview with Politico, "As weapon support to Ukraine has shifted to heavier weapons like armored vehicles and howitzers, railway transport has increased," adding, "Russia has not yet directly attacked Western supplies, but if the stalemate deepens, it may attack despite concerns about escalation."

Sweden and Finland, which have been neutral countries, are expected to simultaneously apply for NATO membership as early as mid-next month. The Guardian reported, citing Finnish daily Iltalehti, that "The Swedish government proposed to Finland to apply for NATO membership on the same day, and the Finnish government agreed."