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Ukraine’s Western backers could trigger WWIII by providing Kiev with weapons that can be used to strike targets on Russian soil, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has said.
Russian officials have claimed that the Ukrainian military has been using Western-supplied weapons in their incursion in Kursk Region. Several Western media outlets have published articles with similar claims of late. A number of Kiev’s backers have also publicly given the green light to use the weapons they have provided on Russian soil.
Speaking to Il Sussidiario media outlet on Wednesday, Salvini, who is also the minister of infrastructure and transport and leads the Lega Nord (Northern League) party, said the “sending of weapons to strike and kill also on Russian territory would be a disaster, the antechamber of a dramatic world conflict.”
The deputy prime minister added that his right-wing party has nothing against providing “humanitarian and military aid to give Ukraine the possibility to defend itself.”
Ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, Salvini urged Italians to not let left-wing parties win, as they, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, would make the prospect of a third world war dangerously real.
“I strongly ask for a vote against the war, to isolate dangerous bombers like Macron,” he said at the time. Salvini also praised the Italian government for its firm position against those in Europe who speak about potentially deploying Western troops to Ukraine, having previously criticized the French president for refusing to rule this out.
The deputy prime minister also stated in June that “we will no longer approve sending any type of weapon unless we have the certainty that those weapons will not be used to attack and kill inside Russia.”
“It would be the incident that takes us straight towards the Third World War,” he said at the time.
In late May, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto cited the Italian constitution, stressing that the weapons Italy supplies to Ukraine can only be used within the territory of the country.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani echoed this, telling reporters: “we are not fighting against Russia. We are defending Ukraine, [it] is not the same.”
Around the same time, Salvini described NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as a “dangerous gentleman” after he proposed allowing Kiev to strike targets deep inside Russia with Western weapons.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, too, expressed incredulity as to “why Stoltenberg said such a thing.”
US, UK, Poland Took Part in Preparing Ukraine’s Operation in Kursk - Russian Foreign Intel
On August 6, Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, which was slammed by President Vladimir Putin as a large-scale provocation. The Kiev regime planned the attack with the participation of the US and NATO, Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev earlier said.
Ukraine’s operation in Russia’s Kursk region was prepared with the participation of the US, UK, and Polish intelligence services, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said.
"According to available information, the operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region was prepared with the participation of the US, British, and Polish intelligence services. The units involved in it underwent combat coordination in training centers in the UK and Germany. Military advisers from NATO countries are providing assistance in managing Ukraine’s units that have invaded Russian territory, and in using Western weapons and military equipment," the agency told Russian media.
NATO countries are also providing the Ukrainian military with satellite reconnaissance data on the deployment of Russian troops in the area of the operation, the SVR added.
As the situation on the front deteriorates for Ukrainian troops, Kiev's Western handlers have been pushing it to move combat operations deep into Russian territory in recent months, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service said. One of the goals was to provoke an upsurge in anti-government sentiment and influence domestic policy in the country.
Watch Black Sea Fleet Marines Capture 18 Ukrainian Assault Fighters in Kursk Region
The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage showing Marines of the 810th Black Sea Fleet Brigade capturing a group of 18 Ukrainian assault troops near the village of Spalnoye in the Kursk region.
"Marines of the 810th Brigade near the village of Spalnoye in the Kursk region captured a group of 18 Ukrainian assault soldiers belonging to the 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," the ministry said.
Earlier, 19 Ukrainian servicemen of the same 22nd Separate Mechanized Brigade were captured by Black Sea Marines near the Kursk region village of Olgovka.
Large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow repelled – mayor (VIDEO)
Russian air defenses have prevented “one of the largest” Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow, the city’s mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, has said. There were no reports of casualties or damage on the ground, he added.
Sobyanin reported the destruction of the first UAV near the city of Podolsk, some 40km south of Moscow, at around 3am on Wednesday. Shortly afterwards, he stated that two other drones had been shot down in the area, adding that preliminary information indicated there were no casualties or damage.
In a series of follow-up posts over the course of about an hour, Sobyanin said several more drones had been destroyed, taking the total number to ten. He did not specify where exactly the UAVs had been shot down or what the target of the raid had been.
“The existing multi-layered defense of Moscow against enemy UAVs allowed to successfully repel all attacks... This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow with drones ever. We continue to monitor the situation,” Sobyanin said.
Several hours later, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that “the Kiev regime” had attempted to carry out a “terrorist attack” using drones, adding that 11 UAVs had been shot down over Moscow Region alone. The ministry noted that a total of 45 drones were destroyed over Russia overnight, with the bulk taken down over the border Bryansk Region.
Ukraine has periodically tried to target the Russian capital – located more than 500km from the front line – with drone raids, although most of the UAVs have been neutralized short of their targets. Some of the strikes were aimed at government buildings and Moscow’s IT quarter.
One of the most high-profile attacks took place in May 2023, when Russia accused Ukraine of launching two drones at the Kremlin to assassinate President Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader was not present in the building at the time.
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