As the Russia-Ukraine War ragesinto 2023, the economic and human cost of the Russian invasion of its neighbor continues to rise. The war began in February 2022, and several months into the conflictan ally ofRussian PresidentVladimir Putin made a startling statement about a potential Russian military strike on a major Western city if NATO was drawn into the war.

A parliament member of Russia and Putin's staunch supporter, Andrey Gurulyov, sounded out a belligerent warning in his appearance as a guest on state-backed national television in June.

Gurulyov was discussing Lithuania's blockade of the neighboring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

For supplying Kaliningrad, Russia may consider invading the Baltic, comprising Lithuania and Estonia, the former defense official told the TV, a video shared by the Daily Mirror with English subtitles showed.

Since these are NATO countries, a Russian invasion will trigger Article 5, potentially leading to World War 3, he added.

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"We'll destroy the entire group of enemy space satellites during the first air operation," Gurulyov said.

"The first to be hit will be London. It's crystal clear thatthe threat to the world comes from the Anglo-Saxons."

He also said Russia will target critically-important sites that would cut off power to Europe. The U.S. will have to ask Western Europe to continue fighting in the cold without food and electricity, he warned.

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This article was originally published on June 25, 2022.

Photo: Created with an image fromThomas Quineon Flickr