Russia Flexes Nuclear Power In New Warning To Ukraine And Western Allies At UNGA

Speaking at the 79th United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed Ukraine's Western allies and warned of the dangers of trying to "fight to victory with a nuclear power."

"I'm not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is. Equally senseless, the Western backers of Kyiv swearing that there is no alternative to negotiations based on the infamous peace formula," said Lavrov.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a 10-point peace plan to bring an end to the war. The peace proposal was formulated based on the UN Charter and international law, however, Moscow rejected the plan.

The 10-point peace plan has also been endorsed by key allies such as the United States. Ukraine has also conducted the first round of peace talks in Switzerland and is working towards planning a second round later this year.

For the second round of peace talks, Kyiv has extended an invitation to Moscow.

As the war escalates, Russian President Vladimir Putin has also revised Moscow's nuclear doctrine. This revision reportedly lowered the bar for the use of nuclear weapons.

As per Putin, Russia would regard an attack by a non-nuclear state that involved or was supported by a nuclear state as a “joint attack against the Russian Federation.”

Despite this revision, Lavrov stated at UNGA that Russia is not increasing its nuclear arsenal, The top diplomat further stated that despite Russia suspending the new START treaty with Washington, it will remain guided by the document till 2026.