Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed there is a “real” danger of his country’s invasion of Ukraine escalating into World War Three.

Speaking to reporters on state television on Monday, he said Nato was “in essence” engaged in a proxy war with Russia by supplying Kyiv with weaponry.

The West’s supply of weaponry to the Ukrainian army has significantly boosted its military efforts during the war and sparked fury in Moscow. Earlier this month, 

Russian officials told the White House that there would be “unpredictable consequences” if the US continued to send arms to Kyiv.

Mr Lavrov was asked about the importance of avoiding a global conflict and whether the current situation was comparable to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when the US and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war.

“This is our key position on which we base everything. The risks now are considerable,” Mr Lavrov said.

“I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it.”