Ex-Russian president claims NATO military aid to Ukraine would bring WW3 closer

ISTANBUL

Military assistance from NATO to Ukraine will bring the world closer to World War III, Russia’s former president has claimed.

“The completely crazy West could not come up with anything else. Predictability of the highest level … In fact, it's a dead end. World War III is getting closer,” Dmitry Medvedev, currently deputy secretary of the Kremlin’s powerful Security Council, said in a statement on Telegram late Tuesday.

Medvedev claimed the preliminary results of this week’s NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius turned out “just like we thought,” specifically pointing to the cancellation of the Membership Action Plan for Kyiv’s NATO membership, Ukraine’s invitation to the alliance, and increased military assistance.

“What does all this mean for us? Everything is obvious. The special military operation will continue with the same goals,” Medvedev added, using Moscow’s term for the war.

He also said that one of these goals is to prevent Ukraine from receiving NATO membership, which he said Russia “insisted on from the very beginning.”​​​​​​​