Russia Outlines the Move That Would Spark World War 3

Ukraine's accession to NATO would lead to World War III, a Russian official warned on Thursday.

"Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three," Alexander Venediktov, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said in an interview with Russia's state-run news agency, Tass.

His remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked to accelerate Ukraine's application to NATO in late September, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the Kremlin had annexed four regions in Ukraine.

Venediktov accused Ukraine of seeking to create informational noise," to try to attract attention to itself.

The official also said that he was certain, given Kyiv's "disengagement from reality," that there are those who expect Ukraine to be accepted as a NATO member.

Ukraine's application for an accelerated entry into NATO is "rather a propaganda move," Venediktov said. He also repeated the Kremlin's rhetoric that countries in the West, by assisting Ukraine in the war, "are a direct party to the conflict".

NATO is unlikely to accept Ukraine's entry to the alliance while it is in a state of war because membership would compel fellow member nations to militarily defend Ukraine against Russia, and potentially ignite a global conflict.

NATO membership requires the unanimous approval of all 30 member nations.

"The suicidal nature of this step [to admit Ukraine to NATO] is understood by the NATO members themselves," said Venediktov.

He noted that "Kyiv's request was immediately supported by Eastern Europeans, including the Balts."

"But the more serious powers, and even Brussels itself, reacted to this initiative without enthusiasm and immediately issued a standard set of counterarguments—non-compliance with the bloc's standards, the existence of territorial disputes, and so on," the official continued.

He concluded by saying that Russia's position on the matter remains unchanged, and that Ukraine's accession to NATO "or some other alliances formed under the auspices of the United States" would be "unacceptable."

Zelensky's decision to formally request an "accelerated accession" to join NATO came after Putin formally annexed four Ukrainian regions following referendums that were viewed by the international community as illegitimate.

"We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other. This is what the Alliance is. De facto. Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure," Zelensky said during a video address at the time.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the alliance's "focus" now "is on providing immediate support to Ukraine, to help Ukraine defend itself against the Russian brutal invasion."

Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's foreign ministry and NATO for comment.