Commenting on the possibility of a nuclear war, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said questions on such a possibility should instead be addressed to the US administration, adding that if US President Joe Biden was talking about the possibility of such an alternative, then "the old instincts are still alive in the minds."

"This should be asked to President Joe Biden. He said that if they had not taken the path of such sanctions, the only alternative could be World War III. Thinks in such categories," Lavrov said.

As for the Ukrainians having such potential, Lavrov highlighted that Kiev had the technical and technological potential for the developing of such weapons, but that Russia would not allow it.

Russia's Foreign Minister further said the calls to deprive Russia of its place as a permanent member of the UN Security Council were unfounded because such a mechanism does not exist.

He did not rule out that the intent of the conflict with Ukraine was for Russia to be involved in a man-made, Western-created conflict in Ukraine, and qualified the sanctions against his country as "bandit-style wild capitalism."

Lavrov stressed that Ukraine "must undergo denazification" as Germany did in the past, asserting that his country could withstand "any economic, political pressure".

Nazis in Ukraine's National Guard

The Azov battalion is a part of the Ukrainian National Guard - a wing of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, an authorized, legitimate part of the Ukrainian security apparatus - and openly Nazi. 

The battalion flaunts its Nazism very openly and is even notoriously known for a video in which they crucified a soldier, tortured him, and burnt him alive. 

The Ukrainian National Guard has recently published a video on its official Twitter page, boasting about Azov fighters greasing their bullets with pig fat to be used against Muslim Chechens on the Russian side. These fighters are a target of Putin's denazification campaign in Ukraine. 

The United States and Canada over the years have aided the neo-Nazi units with weapons and training, strengthening their presence in Ukraine, while NATO does not raise the alarming issue of Nazism in Ukraine, which Zelensky has lost control of.