Russia Warns That the World’s 5 Nuclear Powers Are on Brink of ‘Direct Armed Conflict’

A rocket launches from missile system as part of a ground-based intercontinental ballistic missile test launched from the Plesetsk facility in northwestern Russia on Dec. 9, 2020. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Russia’s foreign ministry said it fears that the world’s five declared nuclear powers are “on the brink of a direct armed conflict,” with Moscow warning of a catastrophic fallout and insisting that avoiding a clash is its top priority.

The Kremlin statement, issued on Nov. 2, accused Western powers of “encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction” and called on the West to stop or face the prospect of “catastrophic consequences.”