Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Antony Thrower

Russian ambassador in chilling warning about 'plans' for NATO after Ukraine invasion

A Russian ambassador has issued a chilling threat to other EU neighbours considering joining NATO as well as other countries already a member of the alliance.

Vladimir Putin ’s insistence Ukraine be stopped from joining the group of 28 European countries and two from North America has been given as one of the reasons for his brutal invasion.

Despite his country being decimated by Russian missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky has been told the former USSR state will not be joining any time soon.

Neither will several other European countries if Russia has anything to do with it, it seems.

Igor Kalabukhov, the Russian ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, said on national TV Moscow has “plans” for Nato.

He added: “I have already said… let me assume, for example, Bosnia has become a member of NATO and Brussels decides to put nuclear missiles aimed at Moscow there.

Ukraine has been bombarded by Russian missiles for nearly four weeks (AFP via Getty Images)

“We will assess the strategic situation and that is why I think that the way out must be the European system, not NATO.

“If Bosnia and Herzegovina decide to be a member of any association, it is an internal affair. But another thing is our reaction.

"With the example of Ukraine, we showed what we expect. If there is a threat, we will react."

When asked by a reporter about other neighbouring nations, he answered: "How do you know we have no plans against Croatia, Hungary, Poland?

Putin is vehemently opposed to Ukraine joining NATO (Getty Images)

“We have plans against NATO. We are assessing the geostrategic situation, looking at where the threats are coming from and reacting.”

Since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, western countries have been unwilling to send troops into Ukraine for fear of it leading to a larger conflict.

Putin has implied that Nato boots on the ground in Nato would lead him to launch a nuclear attack.

President Zelensky has asked Nato to impose a no-fly zone over his country which has been rejected as the move would mean Nato forces could be forced to shoot down Russian planes, potentially leading to a Third World War.

Zelensky has called for a no-fly zone over his country, which has been rejected (Zuma Press/PA Images)

Nato was formed in 1949, four years after the end of the Second World War.

Its 12 founding members were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In response Russia created its own group of eastern European communist countries in 1955, known as the Warsaw Pact.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 several former Warsaw Pact countries such as Hungary and Poland switched sides.

The last country to join Nato was North Macedonia in 2020.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.