Col. Gen. Vladimir Zarudnitsky, who heads the Russian army's Military Academy of the General Staff, said that the probability of Moscow's forces becoming involved in a new conflict is increasing "significantly," the Reuters news agency reported, citing Russian state news agency RIA.
"The possibility of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine - from the expansion of participants in 'proxy forces' used for military confrontation with Russia to a large-scale war in Europe - cannot be ruled out," Zarudnitsky was quoted as saying.
"The main source of military threats to our state is the anti-Russian policy of the United States and its allies, who are conducting a new type of hybrid warfare in order to weaken Russia in every possible way, limit its sovereignty and destroy its territorial integrity," Zarudnitsky said in an article for a Russian defence ministry publication, according to the RIA news agency.
"The likelihood of our state being purposefully drawn into new military conflicts is significantly increasing," he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last month warned NATO countries that there was a risk of nuclear war if they sent their troops to fight in Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II.
Thursday is day 743 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: Reuters, PAP