Putin Ally: West Increasing Risk of Weapons of Mass Destruction Being Used
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Nikolai Patrushev, a powerful ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Wednesday that the "destructive" policies of the United States and its allies were increasing the risk that nuclear, chemical or biological weapons would be used.
The Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022 has led to the most serious confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and the post-Cold War arms control architecture has crumbled.
The Kremlin says the conflict is part of a broader struggle with a declining West which it accuses of sowing chaos around the world to try to maintain its dominance.
Patrushev said the post-Cold War order, including the dominance of the United States, was waning, Reuters reported.
"The natural consequence of the United States' destructive policies is the deterioration in global security," Patrushev was quoted by state news agency TASS as telling colleagues from a grouping of post-Soviet republics.
"The risk that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will be used is increasing," he said. "The international arms control regime has been undermined."
Patrushev gave no specific details of where weapons of mass destruction might be used, but accused Washington of failing to bring peace to the Middle East and of escalating the war in Ukraine by supporting Kiev.
Patrushev, 72, is a former KGB officer who has known Putin since the 1970s when they worked together in the Soviet security service. His remarks offer an insight into the thinking at the very top of the Kremlin elite.
His comments followed US criticism of a Russian decision on Tuesday to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a post-Cold War security agreement. Washington said the decision showed Moscow's disregard for arms control, and US officials have warned that Russia could use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, a suggestion that Putin has played down.
Patrushev said the West had for years been preparing Ukraine for war with Russia, and that Ukraine had tried to attack Russian nuclear power stations, including the Leningrad, Kalinin and Kursk plants.
"On October 26, a Ukrainian UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) hit a nuclear waste warehouse on the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Station," Patrushev was shown saying on state television.
