Western Leaders May Consider Escalating Conflict to Maintain Hegemony, Warns Russia

The head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, has warned that some Western leaders may be considering escalating the conflict in Ukraine to maintain their global dominance. This information, according to Naryshkin, was obtained by the SVR.

Naryshkin's statement comes amidst repeated hints from French President Emmanuel Macron and officials from the Baltic states about the possibility of deploying Western troops to Ukraine. Russia has consistently warned that such a move would significantly escalate the conflict.

Speaking at a meeting of the Federation Council, Naryshkin stated that the SVR had obtained information suggesting "some Euro-Atlantic politicians consider it possible to unleash a large-scale military conflict in order to maintain their hegemony." He noted that there are "strong reasons" to believe that such an escalation could occur if the West deems it "reasonably safe" and beneficial to its interests.

However, Naryshkin acknowledged that there are also "truly responsible" global and regional players who, if united, could prevent such a conflict, including the use of nuclear weapons. He emphasized that Russian special services will continue to closely monitor the situation.

Macron has consistently refused to rule out sending NATO forces to Ukraine, calling such threats "necessary" to maintain the West's "strategic ambiguity." While NATO and most of its members, as well as the EU, have denied the possibility of such a move, Lithuania has backed Macron's proposal. Additionally, Madis Roll, the national security advisor to Estonian President Alar Karis, has stated that Tallinn is "seriously" considering sending troops to fill "rear" roles in Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that any NATO troop deployment to Ukraine would be treated as a major escalation and would likely lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and the US-led bloc. The Russian Foreign Ministry has also stated that any NATO troops appearing in the conflict zone would become targets for the Russian military, as would any foreign-supplied weapons used to strike Russian territory, regardless of their deployment location.