WW3: Russia's chilling message warns the West it is on the brink of huge conflict

Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chair of Russia's security council, is among several of Vladimir Putin allies to post harrowing messages on X, which was known as Twitter, about World War Three

Senior Russian officials - and close allies of Vladimir Putin - have posted chilling messages on social media to suggest they believe World War Three is imminent.

The country has signalled it will retaliate with full-scale nuclear war after Ukraine launched US-made missiles over the border on Tuesday. Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chair of Russia's security council, said this means "World War III" in his harrowing post on X, which was known as Twitter, on Tuesday.

The message, liked by 45,000 and retweeted 12,000 times, says: "Russia's new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they're located. That means World War III." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also chillingly warned Moscow would "react accordingly" to attacks.

The warnings comes after Kyiv launched six "ATACM" missiles from an undisclosed location over the border into Russian territory. This was on the 1,000th day of the conflict.

Sir Keir Starmer said Russia's "irresponsible rhetoric" on nuclear weapons will not deter UK support for Ukraine. Speaking at the G20 summit in Brazil on Tuesday, the Prime Minister also noted Putin's absence and described him as the "author of his own exile" from the gathering.

Asked at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro whether Britons should prepare for nuclear war, the Prime Minister said: "This is irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine.

"We're now on day 1,000 of a conflict, that's 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of sacrifices in Ukraine. We have stood with Ukraine from the start. I've been doubling down in my clear message that we need to ensure Ukraine has what is needed for as long as needed to win this war against Putin." He declined to say whether he was disappointed that the G20 joint communique watered down support for Ukraine.

Instead, the Prime Minister stressed the statement from G20 leaders was "absolutely clear on the UN charter and sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Ukraine. Downing Street had earlier described the leaders' statement as "disappointing" on its stance over the war in Ukraine.