Russia has warned it could deploy military assets to Cuba and Venezuela if talks with the West over Ukraine and European security continue to fail. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, told Russian television he could neither confirm nor exclude sending forces to the two countries, stating 'it all depends on the actions by our US counterparts'.
The threat came as diplomatic efforts appeared to reach a dead end, with Russia's lead negotiator saying there was 'no reason' for further talks in the coming days. A senior Russian diplomat also threatened unspecified 'necessary measures' if Moscow's security demands were not met.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington had intelligence that Russia was preparing to fabricate a pretext for invading Ukraine, echoing the 'playbook' used in 2014. He declined to respond to what he called 'bluster' regarding potential Russian deployments in the Western Hemisphere.
Speaking at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), US ambassador Michael Carpenter warned that 'the drumbeat of war is sounding loud'. Poland's foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, added that Europe faced its greatest risk of war in 30 years.
Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said the talks had consolidated international support for Kyiv, which remains free to choose its security alliances. The US defense secretary reaffirmed the provision of 'defensive assistance' to Ukraine.
Russia has massed around 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, while demanding guarantees that Nato will halt its eastward expansion—conditions the alliance has called impossible to meet.
