Senior Russian Military Officer Warns Ukraine's Conflict Could Be Full-Scale War In Europe

The Ukrainian military fired Howitzers. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/Photo military journalist Taras Gren)

JAKARTA - A senior Russian military officer warned the conflict in Ukraine could escalate to a full-scale war in Europe, saying the possibility of Moscow troops engaging in the new conflict is increasing "significantly."

That was conveyed by the Chief of the Russian Army General Staff Academy Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky in an article for the publication of the Ministry of Defense entitled 'Military Thoughts'.

"The possible escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, ranging from participants in the 'proxy force' used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe, cannot be ruled out," he wrote.

"The main source of military threats to our country is the anti-Russian policy of the United States and its allies, who wage a new type of hybrid war to weaken Russia by all means, limit its sovereignty, destroy the integrity of its territory," he continued.

"The chances of our country being deliberately involved in a new military conflict have increased significantly," said Colonel General Vladimir Zarudnitsky.

Colonel General Zarudnitsky's comments came at a time when the West was trying to help Ukraine with more weapons and funding, following Kyiv's failed retaliatory attack last summer, on the other hand Russian troops took the initiative on the battlefield again.

He also advocated a number of changes in Russia's way of regulating the military and its security, RIA added, including putting a greater emphasis on what it calls friendly countries to ensure Russia's own security, consolidating the entire Russian people around its defense needs.

The war in Ukraine has sparked the deepest crisis in Russia's relations with the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. President Vladimir Putin has warned that the West is at risk of triggering a nuclear war if they send troops to war in Ukraine.

President Putin considers his decision to send tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022 as a special military operation, designed to secure Russia's security against increasingly hostile and US-backed Ukrainian leadership.

Meanwhile, Kyiv said it defended itself against the war of conquest of the imperial style designed to erase its national identity.