Russia raises nuclear tensions as US and NATO officials meet in Germany

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials pleaded Tuesday for more weapons as defense officials from more than 40 countries met in Germany and Russia raised the specter of nuclear war if NATO nations keep arming Ukraine.

In an apparent response to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, who said Monday that the U.S. wanted Russia permanently “weakened,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of escalating tensions.

Asked on Russian TV whether the current situation was comparable to the Cuban missile crisis, which brought the U.S. and Russia to the brink of nuclear war in 1962, Lavrov said his country wants to avoid nuclear conflict, and then added: “The danger is serious, it’s real. It should not be underestimated.”

“NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy,” he said. “War means