A key Putin ally has warned the West that it risks sparking World War III if it allows Ukraine to continue its assault on Russian territory.
Sergei Chemezov, a staunch ally of despot Vladimir Putin, says the United States and its Western allies risk sparking a world war if Washington continues to “provoke” the conflict in Ukraine and allows Kiev to attack Russian territory.
Chemezov, CEO of Rostec, which supplies much of Russia’s weapons for the war, said Russia was confident and had sufficient weapons more than two years after the start of the brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Putin’s lackey, a former KGB general, reiterated the Kremlin’s position that the conflict is a struggle between the West and Russia.
“In a situation where the West, led by the United States, provokes a war, we must be ready,” said Chemezov, who served with Putin in the KGB in East Germany before the Soviet Union collapsed. He added: “The third year of the special operation has begun, and Russia feels confident.”
He said no one could give a time frame for the end of the war and accused the US of fueling the conflict by supplying weapons to Kiev and allowing strikes deep inside Russia.
Former KGB general warned West it could trigger World War III (file footage of nuclear explosion)
Sergei Chemezov (pictured), a close ally of despot Vladimir Putin, says the United States and its Western allies risk sparking a world war
The Putin sycophant, a former KGB general, reiterated Putin’s (pictured) position that the conflict is a struggle between the West and Russia
Doctors, volunteers and military personnel undergo tactical training, including first aid and simulation of the evacuation of a wounded comrade, in the southern Russian region of Rostov
“The further it goes, the greater the risk that the world will be sucked into a global conflict. It looks strange, but Western countries do not seem to understand how loaded this is for them.”
Putin said last week that Russian troops would expel Ukrainian troops from Russian territory, but that they still remain in Russia.
The Russian leader said in June that he could place conventional missiles within range of the West if Ukraine pushed deeper into Russia with long-range Western weapons.
The autocrat claims that the Ukrainian invasion is part of an existential struggle with a regressive and decadent West. According to him, the West humiliated Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 by encroaching on what he sees as Moscow’s sphere of influence, including Ukraine.
The West, which has supplied Kiev with large quantities of weapons, has consistently rejected Moscow’s interpretation of the war, seeing it as an unprovoked land grab by Russia.
Health workers, volunteers and military personnel hold joint training for war zones in Aksaysky District of Rostov Oblast, Russia
Chemezov said no one wanted to give a time frame for the end of the war and accused the US of fueling the conflict by supplying weapons to Kiev.
Moscow says the West was involved in planning Ukraine’s attack on the Kursk region. Western powers, keen to avoid a direct military confrontation with Russia, have denied this and say Russia fomented the war.
Chemezov, 71, faced US and EU sanctions after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
He called it a “myth” that shelves in Russian stores were empty because of sanctions and increased defense spending.
“Just go to any Russian hypermarket and see for yourself: everything is fine,” he said.
Sanctions have disrupted supply chains, forcing Rostec to push back deadlines for the Yakovlev MC-21 aircraft and replace about 40 imported parts for the Superjet-100. However, he said, this is not fatal for Russia or Rostec.
Rostec’s workforce will increase by tens of thousands this year, he said. He described the departure of Western companies such as Boeing and Airbus from the Russian market as an “opportunity” for Rostec, for which the company wanted to say “thank you.”
Ukrainian soldiers arriving from the frontline step out of a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier in an unidentified area in the eastern Donetsk region, August 5, 2024
Ukrainian soldiers ride in a vehicle in an unidentified area in the eastern Donetsk region, on August 5, 2024
“We have overcome the main stress. We have managed to take advantage of the situation and draw the necessary conclusions. One of them is: no more joint business based on trust with Western countries,” Chemezov said.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia is the world’s third-largest arms exporter after the US and France, although the country’s share of the global market fell in 2023 due to the war in Ukraine.
Chemezov said that defense companies would continue to make a significant contribution to the Russian economy even after the conflict in Ukraine.
Arms exports have slowed, but there are signs of a significant slowdown in demand from abroad, he said, partly because Russian weapons have been found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“Our partners are sympathetic and willing to wait,” Chemezov said, without naming them. “There’s already quite a line on the waiting list.”