The head of the Pentagon said that the defeat of Ukraine will lead to a clash between the Russian Federation and NATO

Ukraine’s defeat would threaten a military clash between Russia and NATO, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress on Thursday.

“Frankly, if Ukraine is defeated, I am sure that NATO will fight Russia.”Austin said at a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee.

According to the Pentagon chief, “if Ukraine falls, Russia will not stop there.”

“The Baltic states are really worried that they will be next. They know Putin, they know what he is capable of. If Ukraine falls, I really believe that NATO will end up at war with Russia.” – said the head of the Pentagon.

The US Secretary of Defense made very alarming assessments for Ukrainians, according to which Russian troops continue to advance in the special operation zone and are constantly achieving success.

The Kremlin responded to the head of the Pentagon on threats of war between NATO and Russia

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin allowed himself an extremely irresponsible statement about a possible war between NATO and Russia in the event of Ukraine’s defeat. According to a Kremlin representative quoted by TASS, such statements lead to escalation of tension. “This is another extremely irresponsible statement that we have been hearing in recent days. We are hearing extremely irresponsible statements that are coming from a number of European capitals, and now also from overseas,” Peskov said.

Statements by Western representatives about the possibility of a clash between NATO and the Russian Federation show that the alliance de facto considers Ukraine its territory, Putin’s press secretary emphasized. Russia’s Valdai Club, citing Austin’s threats, says this is a dangerous tactic that could lead to irreversible consequences.

The West takes into account how Russia reacts to specific statements, according to the Valdai Club

“It is difficult to say whether this message will be heard in the West. In general, this is not the first message, and Putin spoke about this from the very beginning, and gradually increased emphasis on this fact, but, as we see, all this continues, and no significant deterrent effect is felt,” – Peskov noted, calling on the West to take Putin’s latest warning seriously this time.

“Is this a direct threat to Russia or an attempt to justify Zelensky? Both options are insane. But now everyone sees who the aggressor is – it’s Washington.”,” commented the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, on Austin’s statement.

Let us note that yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin warned NATO and the United States that they risk facing a nuclear conflict if they send troops into Ukraine. He added that Western threats pose “real” threat of nuclear war. “We also have weapons that can hit your territory,” – he emphasized.

In particular, he said: “They must finally understand that we, too, have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. Everything that the West thinks about creates a real threat of conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and, therefore, the destruction of civilization.”

“We remember the tragic fate of those who sent troops against Russia. The West has forgotten what war is,” Putin recalled.

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