Russian lawmaker Maria Butina warned on Monday that the Biden administration’s decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to launch deep strikes into Russia could spark World War Three.
This statement comes amid escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with concerns about a potential large-scale conflict growing globally.
“These guys, Biden’s administration, is trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office,” Butina told Reuters.
“I have a great hope that (Donald) Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War Three which is not in anybody’s interest.”
President Vladimir Putin has expressed strong concerns about Western involvement in the Ukraine conflict. On September 12, he stated that Western approval for Ukraine to use long-range missiles would directly draw NATO countries, the US, and European nations into the war, as NATO’s military infrastructure and personnel would be necessary for targeting and firing the missiles.
This concern was reiterated in late October, when Putin announced that Russia’s defense ministry is exploring various response strategies if the US and its NATO allies assist Ukraine in launching deep strikes into Russian territory using Western-made long-range missiles.
Putin’s warnings come amid escalating tensions between Russia and Western nations, with NATO providing unprecedented levels of support to Ukraine, including military aid and training.
NATO has condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and its member states have imposed severe sanctions on Russia to starve its war machine of resources.
“I guess there are some people in the United States who have nothing to lose for whatever reason or who are completely off the grid so much that they simply do not care,” said Butina, who spent 15 months in U.S. prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent and is now a lawmaker for the ruling United Russia party.
It was widely reported on Sunday that President Joe Biden had authorised the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia.
The Associated Press reported that according to one U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter, the decision represents a significant shift in U.S. policy as Biden prepares to leave office, with President-elect Donald Trump pledging to swiftly end the war and expressing scepticism about continued U.S. support.
The missiles are expected to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to deploy thousands of troops to Russia to aid President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.