The Kremlin today threatened ‘nuclear strikes with catastrophic consequences’ if the West refuses to kowtow to Vladimir Putin’s demands over Ukraine.
The warning from the dictator’s hardline foreign minister Sergei Lavrov came as Russia is being forced onto the back foot in the war, highlighted by a devastating attack this week on Moscow’s main oil refinery.
Claiming the Kremlin is under unprecedented threat from the West, Putin’s top diplomat alleged the current turmoil could spin out of control into a nuclear Third World War.
‘This state of affairs poses serious threats to global security,’ he said.
‘A direct confrontation between Nato and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences.’
He criticised Europe including Britain for a ‘dream of expansion’ into Putin’s backyard intending to ‘absorb Ukraine and Moldova, while pulling Armenia into its sphere of influence’, as France offers nuclear protection to other Western states.
‘Nato has already expanded eastward, swallowing up Finland and Sweden,’ he complained.
‘As for Ukraine, it is increasingly eyed as the “striking fist” of a future European military force, independent of the United States and independent of Nato.’
A woman walks outside a shopping centre as black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow Oil Refinery
The lid of a Russian oil refinery at Kapotnya is blown into the air during a Ukrainian drone strike
Lavrov warned Putin would exact ‘massive’ revenge for the humiliating destruction of Moscow Oil Refinery
Claiming Russia was ready for dialogue, he made clear this must be on Putin’s terms ‘reliably guaranteeing security along Russia’s western borders’ – not Western ‘ultimatums’ to Moscow.
Lavrov also warned Putin would exact ‘massive’ revenge for the humiliating destruction of Moscow Oil Refinery which left the city shrouded in apocalyptic smoke.
‘After yet another Kyiv terrorist attack….we will now conduct massive group strikes on a regular basis against targets whose condition directly affects Ukraine’s combat readiness,’ he said.
‘This is the task set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief [Vladimir Putin].’
With Russia losing 40 square miles on the frontline in March and being hammered in Ukrainian strikes on its oil industry, other Putin cheerleaders called for nuclear or overwhelming use of force by the Kremlin.
Putin guru Sergei Karaganov, known as ‘Professor Doomsday’, alleged atomic weapons should be used against the West, not Ukraine.
‘We might have to, God forbid, launch a nuclear strike against the West,’ said the trigger-happy ideologue.
‘I advocate this in order to prevent and end this terrible war that the West has imposed on us, which it is waging on Ukrainian territory, destroying millions of Ukrainians and tens of thousands of Russians.
‘Besides all this, the overall international situation is developing in a direction where we are sliding toward a world war.
‘We are already in it. It was precisely to restore fear of nuclear weapons that I called for the possibility of a nuclear strike – to restore fear of nuclear weapons and end this war the West is waging against us in Ukraine.’
Ultranationalist billionaire and media owner Konstantinos Malofeev said: ‘What else has to happen before we start fighting for real?’
He demanded: ‘Why aren’t we using the nuclear weapons that our ancestors created and stockpiled through the efforts of the entire country precisely for moments like this?’
Reservist commander Lieutenant-General Andrei Gurulev, a pro-Putin MP, demanded to ‘strike the enemy mercilessly’ in response to the Moscow oil refinery humiliation.
‘We simply need to attack, destroy the entire leadership, destroy all command posts, bring all industry to its knees, achieve success at the front, and occupy cities and town,’ he said.
‘And then nothing will fly, including to the Moscow Oil Refinery.’
Former deputy premier Dmitry Rogozin demanded: ‘We just need to pull ourselves together and give the enemy a decisive slap in the face.’
The threats come as Kyiv launched a huge drone attack that left Russia’s capital blanketed in toxic smoke.
Scores of drones targeted the city on Thursday, hitting its oil refinery for the second time this week.
It was Ukraine’s largest drone attack on Moscow in years, sparking fires in and around the Russian capital and forcing evacuations at the country’s largest airport.
Footage captured the moment a Ukrainian drone struck the oil depot, sending a huge fireball into the sky as debris rained down around it.
Moscow residents complained of black rain falling from the sky following the attack, which the city’s authorities denied.
Black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow Oil Refinery on the south-eastern outskirts of Moscow on June 18, 2026
Zelensky said on Thursday heavy drone attacks on Russia were retaliation for a strike that damaged a historic monastery in Kyiv this week, and that ‘Moscow will burn’ if attacks continue. Pictured: Smoke rising following a Ukrainian strike on a Russian oil refinery
‘We don’t want this war, we never did, and everyone knows it, and our partners know it,’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, ‘But if Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn.’
Zelensky held talks on Thursday in Brussels with Nato and European Union leaders, and the German and Ukrainian defense ministers signed an agreement to jointly develop an air defense system to counter ballistic missiles.
He described it as the start of an ‘anti-ballistic missile coalition’ and invited others to join.
Zelensky called on Europe and the United States to increase pressure on Russia through sanctions on Russia’s defence and energy sectors and broader economy to force President Vladimir Putin into ending the war.
‘Everyone needs to put pressure on Putin: Ukrainians, absolutely all the Europeans, Americans, and Russians – it’s time to sober up and put pressure on your leader,’ he said.