A day after delegations met at the Belarus border, Putin amplified his attack on civilians and cities across the sovereign nation. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that a third world war would be “nuclear” and “destructive,” essentially warning NATO not to intervene militarily in Ukraine, a day after peace talks failed to temper the bloodshed and as Russian paratroopers descended on the city of Kharkiv, the second largest city in the nation and the epicenter of fierce fighting. Ukraine’s defense ministry confirmed the arrival of Russian airborne troops on Telegram, though it is unclear if they are involved in a ground battle just yet. “There is an ongoing fight between the invaders and the Ukrainians,” they said. Authorities confirmed Wednesday midday that “massive shelling and bombing” as well as urban warfare was underway. Images showed municipal buildings in the city center on fire. Ukraine’s interior minister said that more than 2,000 civilians had already been killed in the six-day-old conflict. Kharkiv was paralyzed by increased fighting Wednesday morning, with Ukrainian Interior Ministry Adviser Anton Gerashchenko confirming that a Russian airstrike ignited the barracks of a flight school that housed some Ukrainian troops. “Practically there are no areas left in Kharkiv where an artillery shell has not yet hit,” he said in a statement on Telegram Wednesday morning.
via daily beast: Russia Threatens ‘Nuclear’ World War as Its Paratroopers Descend on Ukraine