Ukraine war: NATO fears wider war, US alarm at Russia-Iran 'partnership', Putin pre-emptive strikes
NATO's chief has expressed a worry that fighting in Ukraine could spiral out of control and become an all-out conflict between Russia and NATO, during an interview released on Friday.
“If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in remarks to Norwegian broadcaster NRK.
“It is a terrible war in Ukraine. It is also a war that can become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between NATO and Russia,” he said. “We are working on that every day to avoid that.”
Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, said in the interview that “there is no doubt that a full-fledged war is a possibility.”
He added that it was important to avoid a conflict "that involves more countries in Europe and becomes a full-fledged war in Europe.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused NATO allies of effectively becoming a party to the conflict by providing Ukraine with weapons, training its troops and feeding military intelligence to attack Russian forces.
Ukraine says it is fighting for freedom against an unwanted invader and aggressor.
The White House issued a stark warning on Friday over the ever-deepening "military partnership" between Tehran and Moscow.
It called the cooperation "large-scale", though Russia denied needing military support from anyone in Ukraine.
John Kirby, National Security Council spokesman, said Moscow had "offered Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support", which "transforms their relationship into a full defence partnership".
He added that this development is "harmful" to Ukraine, Iran's neighbours and "the international community", while announcing sanctions against three Russian entities active in the purchase and distribution of Iranian drones.
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