Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that if a third World War were to take place, it would involve nuclear weapons and be destructive. Lavrov has said that Russia, which launched what it calls a special military operation against Ukraine last week, would face a “real danger” if Kyiv acquired nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Russia is gathering troops closer and closer to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital’s mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote in an online post on Wednesday. “We are preparing and will defend Kyiv,” he added. “Kyiv stands and will stand.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said almost 6,000 Russians were killed in 6 days of the war, according to reports. This comes amidst news of Russian airborne troops landing in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv and the Russian military’s claim that it has taken control of the southern city of Kherson. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had captured Kherson, a Ukrainian port. The government in Kyiv hasn’t confirmed the information but said overnight that troops were moving toward the city.
Meanwhile, Russian officials are ready to hold a second round of talks with Ukraine on Wednesday but it is unclear whether Ukrainian officials will turn up, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there was contradictory information about the talks, which would follow a meeting at the Belarusian border on Monday that failed to produce a breakthrough. Oil surged above $110 a barrel as traders started boycotting Russian crude even without sanctions on energy. European natural gas hit a new record rising as much as 60% raising once again the prospect of industrial blackouts in the region.