THE Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin issued a stark warning of a direct NATO-Russia confrontation. Austin made the claims during the United States House Committee on Armed Services hearing in Washington DC.
“If Ukraine falls again, Putin won’t stop there. He will just continue to move forward. If Ukraine falls again, Putin won’t stop there. He will just move forward and attack and take on the sovereign territory of his neighbours. If you’re a Baltic state, you’ll really worry about whether or not you’re next. They know Putin, they know what he’s capable of. Quite frankly, if Ukraine falls, I really believe that NATO will be in a fight with Russia,” Lloyd Austin, Pentagon Chief stated
Russia calls U.S. ‘aggressor’ in response to Pentagon chief’s ‘direct threat’
Russia hits back at Austin with Foreign Ministery Spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova calling the United States, an ‘aggressor’.
“Is this a direct threat to Russia or an attempt to come up with an excuse for [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy? Both are crazy. But now everyone can see who the aggressor is— Washington,” Maria Zakharova, Spokeswoman, Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov described Austin’s warning as another extremely irresponsible statement that have been heard in recent days, and that such statements only lead to ‘further escalation of tension’.
Peskov also said that it was more evidence that ‘NATO considers Ukraine to be its territory’, and that the Pentagon Chief’s words emphasizes what he calls as absolute validity of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
“[This] once again emphasises the absolute validity of what the Russian Federation is doing and that the special military operation is correct and justified.”
