While speaking to a group of donors in California earlier this week, Biden said he worries about Russian President Vladimir Putin “using tactical nuclear weapons,” gauging such a possibility as “real.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has dismissed US President Joe Biden's claims about the prospects of Moscow using tactical nuclear weapons.
When a Russian reporter asked him about this development, Lavrov remarked that he finds it hard to “comment on things the US president is saying lately.”
“I would not pay too much attention to completely baseless verbal escapades,” he added.
The Russian foreign minister also weighed in on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky telling Western media that “the world” may decide to “kill” Vladimir Putin if the latter “does not stop threatening the world with nuclear weapons.”
In response, Lavrov pointed out that he does not have a medical education and therefore cannot comment on the “psychological condition of the people who repeatedly confirm their own inadequacy on a daily basis,” apparently referring to Zelensky.
Earlier this year, Russia announced its intent to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its ally Belarus.
While the United States and its allies vocally criticized this move, Moscow pointed out it is merely following the example set by Washington, which has long stationed US nuclear weapons on allied soil beyond US borders.
Lavrov discusses Wagner revolt with Iranian counterpart
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has spoken by phone with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who voiced support for Moscow following an armed rebellion by the Wagner private military company (PMC), the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
The conversation took place late on Saturday, on the initiative of Tehran, after the crisis had already been resolved, the ministry said.
“The Iranian side expressed support for the actions of the Russian leadership to ensure constitutional order,” the statement read.
The top diplomats also discussed bilateral ties between Russia and Iran, stressing their “high dynamism” and expressing their eagerness to further boost cooperation, the ministry added.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani described the insurrection by Wagner as an “internal issue” of the Russian state. “Iran supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation,” he stressed.
Wagner, which has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine, launched a major mutiny late on Friday. Its troops seized control of the Russian military’s Southern District headquarters in the city of Rostov-on-Don and sent a convoy towards Moscow.
The revolt came to a halt on Saturday night as the PMC’s leader, Evgeny Prigozhin, announced that his men would be returning to their field camps, following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The negotiations took place in coordination with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Minsk.
Prigozhin, who said he ordered the insurrection because “they [the Defense Ministry] wanted to disband Wagner PMC,” will leave Russia and “go to Belarus” as a result of the deal, Kremlin spokeperson Dmitry Peskov said. The criminal case against Prigozhin will be dropped, with Wagner fighters, who took part in the insurrection, also avoiding prosecution, he added.
Cuban president expresses solidarity to Putin amid Wagner mutiny attempt
"I express the solidarity of the people and government of Cuba to the respected President Putin and the brotherly people of the Russian Federation, in the face of attempts to provoke an armed rebellion in the country. We are fully convinced that unity and constitutional order will prevail," Miguel Diaz-Canel said.
Serbia will never support a coup in any country, President Aleksandar Vucic said
‘We did not support one in Turkiye or in Russia, and we would not support one in America either,’ he said, adding that power is won through elections.
Russia's MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces continued to attempt offensive operations in the DPR, near Krasny Liman and in the Zaporozhye region;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled two attacks in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region;
▪️Russia also repelled ten attacks in the Artemovsk area;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled four attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Avdeevka, Maryinka, Pervomaisky;
▪️Russian troops stopped the activities of two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the Serebryansky forest area;
▪️The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the south of the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region amounted to over 170 soldiers;
▪️The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 430 soldiers in the DPR;
▪️Russian troops destroyed up to 130 Ukrainian servicemen near Krasny Liman;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 25 military units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Kupyansk;
▪️Russian air defense systems intercepted a Tochka-U missile and a MLRS HIMARS projectile of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Russian military from the Vostok group repelled enemy attacks in the Yuzhno-Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, tanks, armored cars and manpower were destroyed, RIA Novosti was told in the Russian Defense Ministry.
In addition, Russian troops destroyed more than 50 Ukrainian fighters and seven armored combat vehicles in the area of the Yuzhno-Donetsk direction.
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