The third World War would be ‘nuclear and destructive’, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov adding that Russia would not allow Ukraine to acquire nuclear weapons.

The Foreign Minister said that Russia was ready for sanctions but did not expect the West to target its athletes, journalists and representatives of the cultural sector.

Notably, the Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its seventh day on Wednesday, with fighting intensifying in Kyiv and in other big cities.

According to Russian Defence Minister, it was planning to strike targets used by Ukraine’s security service.

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Russian forces significantly scaled up their military operations as they pummeled down the country's second largest city, Kharkiv with rockets and heavy artillery firing. Naveen, an Indian student was also killed in shelling in Kharkiv.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called shelling in Kharkiv a "war crime".

Russia also held drills in the Barents Sea after President Vladimir Putin ordered his nation's nuclear forces put on high alert over tensions with the West over the invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden reinforced his support to Ukraine but said that the US won't be involved in its fight against Russia. He said US will protect Nato territories together with its allies.

The second round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will be held today. Both the sides decided to meet again after the first round of negotiations on Monday produced no tangible results. The first round of talks held in the border town of Gomel in Belarus on Monday lasted for nearly five hours.

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