Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia said that ownership of nuclear weapons protects his country from security threats and serves as a constant reminder to the West about the risk of nuclear war. The recent comment by Lavrov comes after a rhetoric of military escalation by Moscow that has increased furiously since Russian forces invaded Ukraine last year. “The possession of nuclear arms is today the only possible response to some of the significant external threats to the security of our country,” Lavrov said in an interview with the state magazine called The International Affairs. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, predicted last month that if Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces was successful, Moscow would have to deploy nuclear weapons. Lavrov said that the United States and NATO military alliance members risk ending up in “a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers”. “We believe such a development should be prevented. That’s why we have to remind about the existence of high military and political risks and send sobering signals to our opponents”, Lavrov added. Ukraine receives the majority of its military support from NATO nations and the US in its conflict against Russia. US President Joe Biden has called a threat of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons “real”, reported Al Jazeera. “The Western military alliance has not detected any changes to Russia’s nuclear force stance, and therefore, NATO did not need to reciprocate in its nuclear posture”, said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. On Thursday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies, warned that he would use the nuclear weapons that Russia had deployed in his country if faced with external aggression. One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest supporters, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned on Thursday that if his nation came under external attack, he would use the nuclear weapons that Russia had stationed there. “There can be only one threat – aggression against our country. If aggression against our country starts from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, we will respond instantly with everything we have”, Lukashenko said in an interview. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank said earlier this year that Russia’s increasing nuclear war rhetoric was part of an “information operation” focused on discouraging Ukraine and its Western supporter. “Russian invocations of nuclear threats and nuclear doctrine are part of an information operation meant to discourage Ukraine and the West but do not represent any material Russian intent to employ nuclear weapons,” the think tank said in an assessment.