Putin warned: ‘Radioactive contamination would spread to Russian land’ – Express

If Putin were to restore to nuclear arms, the MI6 veteran claimed, "radioactive contamination would spread to Russian land".

That, he suggested, might be reason enough to prevent such an escalation.

Sir John's reference to the natural damage brought by the use of weapons echoes claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday about the environmental price of Russia's war.

He told an audience at the Globsec security conference in Bratislava that the military's conflict isn't just a human horror, but an ecological disaster, too.

Speaking via video link, Mr Zelensky said: "Let us again remember the significance of the Danube river, this is the source of prosperity for various cities: Bratislava, Vienna, Budapest.

"To make sure the Danube remains clean and safe to ensure that its economic potential, including transport potential, is in full swing, we need cooperation from all countries which have received this great gift of nature."

Ukraine LIVE:Sending your soldiers to die! Putin faces mutiny

The Danube River runs through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania, along with Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky continued: "The pollutants can contaminate not only the rivers of Ukraine but also the Black and Azov Seas.

"The threats to the entire humanity is just impossible to be organised in a comprehensive way without being cognisant of what is taking place on water."

Sir John, who headed the MI6 between 2009 and 2014, dubbed the invasion of Ukraine "the most dangerous crisis since the Cold War".

While acknowledging the threats of Russia's "military power", which include "a huge nuclear arsenal", the former intelligence head said the chances of Putin triggering a nuclear escalation had decreased considerably since the conflict began.

His predictions are in line with those of top NATO and US officials who say the war is likely to end at the negotiating table but stress the need for Kyiv to be able to defend itself to strengthen its position at peace talks.

At a joint news conference in Washington on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said how the fighting evolves will impact any future negotiations.

Mr Stoltenberg told reporters: "Wars are unpredictable.

"We were able to predict the invasion, but how this war will evolve, it's very hard to predict.

"What we do know is that almost all wars end at some stage at the negotiating table."

Mr Blinken said: "We can't say when, we can't say exactly how.

"What we can say is what we will do to make sure that Ukraine has the means to defend itself and has the strongest possible hand at every step along the way."

The full-scale Russian invasion, which is hitting the 100-day mark on Friday, was launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24.

It has led to the deaths of thousands of people, devastated cities and towns and triggered a massive exodus of more than six million Ukrainians.

Read more from the original source:

Putin warned: 'Radioactive contamination would spread to Russian land' - Express