Russian Foreign Minister says World War III would be nuclear and destructive

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the third World War would be 'nuclear and destructive'.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the third World War would be 'nuclear and destructive' and claimed Russia would not allow Ukraine to acquire nuclear weapons.

Lavrov said that Russia was ready for sanctions but did not expect the West to target its athletes, journalists and representatives of the cultural sector.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its seventh day on Wednesday, with fighting intensifying in Kyiv and in other big cities. Russia's defence ministry said it was planning to strike targets used by Ukraine's security service.

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Russian forces significantly scaled up their military operations as they pummeled down the country's second largest city, Kharkiv with rockets and heavy artillery firing. Naveen, an Indian student was also killed in shelling in Kharkiv.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called shelling in Kharkiv a "war crime".

Russia also held drills in the Barents Sea after President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation's nuclear forces put on high alert over tensions with the West over the invasion of Ukraine.