Related: Putin visits Russian troops in Ukraine’s Kherson and Luhansk regions
An ally of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has warned that the world is probably on the verge of a new world war as the risks of a nuclear battle escalate.
“The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war,” former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev told a conference in Moscow.
He said such a new world war was not inevitable but that the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing – and more serious than concerns about climate change.
It comes as Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the River Dnipro begin frequently carrying out raids on the eastern bank near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Moscow of deploying the kind of war tactics used in Syria to level Bakhmut, as heavy fighting for control of the salt mining city continues.