In brief

• Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) presents a statement by Aleksandr Lukashenko, according to whom further escalation of the Ukrainian conflict may lead to the outbreak of World War III.
• According to historian of air defense forces Yuri Knutov, quoted by Wiesti.ru, such a scenario could materialize if the West openly sent NATO troops to Ukraine.
• An expert quoted by Wiesti.ru assesses that the conflict could then escalate into the use of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons.
• The same message emphasizes that Russia has not allowed a strategic defeat and has shifted part of its economy to military footing, which – in the expert's view – justifies the lack of pessimism.

Russian press

The Kremlin propaganda outlet Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) presents a statement by Aleksandr Lukashenko, according to whom further escalation of the Ukrainian conflict may lead to the outbreak of World War III. Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) quotes historian of air defense forces Yuri Knutov, who claims that such a scenario could materialize if the West openly sent NATO troops to Ukraine, and the conflict could then escalate into the use of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. The same message emphasizes that Russia has not allowed a strategic defeat and has shifted part of its economy to military footing, which according to the expert justifies the lack of pessimism. (Назван главный повод для начала Третьей мировой войны – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe))