A full Russian invasion of Ukraine would spread global conflict and could be the trigger for World War Three, a Ukrainian government minister warned today.
Yuliia Laputina, the minister for veterans affairs, said that her country was prepared to defend itself should Moscow launch another attack on Ukraine.
But she warned that the consequences of an invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin would be far-reaching, and would not be contained in her country.
'If Russia will invade you know, you should also take care about the Balkans. What Russians are doing now in Serbia - they try to provoke a situation in the Balkans,' she told Sky News in an interview on Thursday.
'But we also take into account [the beginning of] World War Three.'
Her comments came as EU leaders were set to warn Russia that hostile action against Ukraine would come at a 'high price' in a message expected to be agreed during a European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Russia said on Thursday it was ready to send a government negotiator 'at any moment' to start talks with the United States on the security guarantees it is seeking in order to defuse the crisis over Ukraine.
Asked whether she thought an invasion could be the trigger that leads to a third world war, Laputina told the broadcaster that it could.
'Geopolitically, it looks like this is a possible scenario. So… we should pay attention to the Ukrainian issue because of the security of the continent,' she said.
'This - the spreading of war in case of Russian invasion to Ukraine - will be much wider than Ukraine.'
On whether she believed Ukraine could resist an invasion by Russia, Laputina said while an initial Moscow-ordered invasion could succeed, the 'next step will not be successful because we have a very big experience of national resistance.'
Ms Laputina's comments came ahead of a summit of European Union leaders on Thursday that will focus on avoiding a Russian military invasion with threats of unprecedented sanctions for Moscow and the promise of diplomatic talks.
The Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border is taking centre stage at the summit of the EU's 27 leaders, with a plea from Ukraine's president to start imposing more sanctions before any possible incursion, rather than after.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the EU shouldn't underestimate the threat, even beyond Ukraine, which he says is creating the worst security situation since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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