By Antonio Scancariello and Will Stewart

 

MOSCOW, 28 Sept. - (ANA) - Russia dramatically stoked WW3 fears by claiming it could destroy Europe in a "short war". Top Kremlin diplomat Sergey Lavrov accused Western leaders of pushing Russia to war.

 

Hours after his first meeting with Berlin's Foreign Minister since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he accused Germany of seeking to create a "Fourth Reich" and fuel "Nazism" in Europe. He claimed a Third World War could become a "self-fulfilling prophecy". The 76-year-old Russian Foreign Minister allegedly told reporters at the UN in New York: "It is Europe that is preparing for war with us. They constantly reiterate that, by 2030 at the latest, we, the Europeans, must be ready for war. You know, this could turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy, because they are currently investing huge amounts of money in the production of weapons.

 

"And at some point, some adventurer, and there are many of them in these elites, will say, 'Guys, we've accumulated so much, what do we do with it?....'

 

"'Oh, we promised to attack Russia.' In that case, if they attack us, because we are not going to....stand idly by...."

 

Implying the use of nuclear weapons, he said: "It will be a completely different war, and it will be short." War hardliner Lavrov met German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and hours later launched into a tirade against Berlin, accusing it of seeking to become the dominant European military power.

 

Lavrov's warnings appeared to contradict claims from Putin that he had no intention of going to war on the continent.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned: "Many intelligence services have information that the Russians want to expand their war, their activities, to other countries - possibly other regions."

 

In overnight strikes, Russia sought to blow up Ukraine's high-tech data centres - a campaign which has already blacked out TV channels and threatened mobile internet.

 

NATO F-18 warplanes and a IAR-330 SOCAT helicopter were scrambled in Romania amid a threat from Russian drones close to the River Danube border with Ukraine. Two people were killed and another 28 injured-including children-in Russian army strikes using guided aerial bombs on Sumy in Ukraine.

 

Putin's relentless strikes on civilians continued with three people killed and at least four injured in Zaporizhzhia region.   - (ANA) - 

 

 AB/ANA/28 September 2026  - - -