Russia and Belarus ready to act over 'European escalation' around Ukraine, Kremlin spy chief says
Russia and Belarus are ready to act preemptively over military escalation from European countries over Ukraine, the head of Russia's spy service chief said.
Russia and Belarus are ready to act preemptively over increased military escalation from European countries over Ukraine, the head of Russia's foreign spy service chief said Tuesday, according to state media.
“We feel and see that European countries, especially France, Great Britain and Germany, are increasing the level of escalation around the Ukrainian conflict. Therefore, we need to act preemptively. We are ready for this,” Sergei Naryshkin was quoted as saying by both the TASS and RIA news agencies.
In the event of an attack on Russia or Belarus, Russia would retaliate against NATO as a whole, but that Poland and the Baltic states would suffer first, he added.
Those countries should understand that “in the event of aggression” from NATO “damage will certainly be inflicted on the entire NATO bloc, but to a greater extent the first to suffer will be the bearers of such ideas in the political circles of Poland and the Baltic countries,” Naryshkin said.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin in Moscow in 2023. Gavril Grigorov / Pool via AFP-Getty Images fileHis comments came hours after Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it “not easy” to agree with the U.S. on key parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine. “We are well aware of what a mutually beneficial deal looks like, which we have never rejected, and what a deal looks like that could lead us into another trap,” he told Russia's Kommersant newspaper.
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