Tulsi Gabbard Warns Against Igniting World War III as US Senator Hints at Nuking Russia Over Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin has stated that the idea of Ukraine joining NATO represents a “red line” for Russia, as he warned that the US-led military alliance would deploy missiles which could reach Moscow in five minutes. His US counterpart Joe Biden, meanwhile, has quipped that he doesn’t accept anyone’s red lines.

Tulsi Gabbard has warned that the “mainstream media, military industrial complex and the self-serving politicians” could be leading the US into the “apocalypse of World War 3”.

The former US Congress representative from Hawaii also reckoned that the “death and suffering” would be “infinitely greater” than that witnessed during World War II.

Gabbard posted the message on her Twitter timeline on Wednesday while remembering the attack by the Imperial Japanese Forces on the US base of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on 7 December, 1941, which led to American involvement in World War II.

I’ve been on Reserve duty at Ft Bragg, NC, thinking about Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, my brothers and sisters in arms who perished, and how that day of infamy catapulted us into a world war which… (1/3) pic.twitter.com/C17j1VB2rL

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) December 8, 2021

The warning by Gabbard, who holds the distinction of being the first Hindu member of the US Congress, comes amid the escalating tensions between the US and Russia over the prospects of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and advanced American weaponry being stationed close to the Russian border.

Gabbard made an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday evening, slamming a US senator who has called for entering a “nuclear war” with Russia in case it invades Ukraine.

"Let's go and launch a nuclear attack that would start a war that would destroy the American people, our country and the world and oh, also, the Ukrainians so that we can save Ukraine’s democracy? I mean, it literally is insane," Gabbard said.

She was responding to a hawkish suggestion by Republican Congressman Roger Wicker, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who said during an on-air interview that Biden shouldn’t "rule out first-use nuclear action" against Russia over the Ukraine matter.

"You are hearing the same kind of rhetoric coming from Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the administration and in the media no problem with this because they actually agree with this. They are pushing this same narrative themselves,” Gabbard told Fox News, as she expressed concerns that Wicker wasn’t an “outlier” in making such a point.

Gabbard’s comments during the Fox News interview reflected her observations in the social media post.

Tensions have been escalating over Ukraine’s possible membership in the NATO alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that “it would be criminal inaction on our side to spinelessly watch all that's taking place”.

"Russia conducts peace-loving foreign policy, but we have a right to provide for our own safety,” Putin said at a press briefing after his meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Sochi on Wednesday.

The Washington Post has reported that Russia has stationed nearly 175,000 troops at the Ukraine border and was preparing for a “multifront military offensive” against Ukraine as early as 2022.

Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov has rejected the “military offensive” plans as “baseless” and being part of the “US-led disinformation campaign”.

The Russian leader, who held a video call with his US counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday, 7 December, has said that a “potential membership of Ukraine in NATO” would result in military bases and troops inside Ukrainian territory.

Meanwhile, Biden said on Wednesday that he threatened Russia with unprecedented economic sanctions if it were to launch an offensive against its eastern neighbour.

"I made it very clear that if in fact he invades Ukraine there will be severe consequences, severe consequences -- economic consequences like none he's ever seen or ever have been seen," Biden said during his interaction with reporters at the White House on Wednesday.