Moscow issues fresh N-warning, wraps up Ukraine referendum

London, September 27

An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark new nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West on Tuesday as referendums billed by Russia as a prelude to it annexing four Ukrainian regions entered their fifth and final day. Moscow’s latest broadside came as European countries rushed to investigate unexplained leaks in two Russian natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea which will hinder efforts to restart the main line taking Russian gas to Germany.

The Kremlin, which has blamed technical problems for earlier cuts in Russian gas supplies to Europe, said it could not rule out sabotage, but did not say by whom and called for an investigation.

Tuesday’s nuclear warning by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, is one of several issued by Putin and his associates in recent weeks. This differs from the earlier warnings in which he predicted for the first time that the NATO would not risk a nuclear war and directly enter the Ukraine war even if Moscow struck Ukraine with nuclear weapons. “I believe that NATO would not directly interfere in the conflict even in this scenario,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.

Meanwhile, the voting on whether to join Russia in four Ukrainian regions partly controlled by Moscow—Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia—entered its fifth and final day. The West has said it will not recognise the outcome. Russian state news agency RIA said the partial voting results showed overwhelming majorities of residents in favour of joining Russia. — Reuters

Sanctions sought

Ukraine has urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia for staging annexation votes in 4 regions. Our battlefield action won’t change, it added.

Mystery leaks hit gas pipelines

• European countries raced to probe unexplained leaks in two Russian gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark.
• Experts and also Russia said the possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out. Europe is already facing energy crisis.

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