A senior Russian politician has sparked fresh World War Three fears after claiming Europe is effectively “defenceless” against Moscow’s latest hypersonic weapons. The warning was posted on Telegram by Aleksey Aleksandrovich Zhuravlyov, a hardline nationalist MP and chairman of the Rodina party, who shared a German media report about a recent Russian missile strike in Ukraine.

Zhuravlyov referenced an article published by Berliner Zeitung reporting on the alleged deployment of Russia’s so-called “Oreshnik” hypersonic missile during strikes on Ukraine’s Lviv region. He claimed the attack had sent shockwaves through political and military circles across Europe. In his commentary, the Kremlin ally alleged the strike was a “clear signal” to the EU and NATO, insisting that Russia had demonstrated its ability to hit targets in “Western capitals” and at NATO military bases. He added that, in the face of Moscow’s new weapons technology, Ukraine’s allies were “effectively defenceless” – a claim not made by the German newspaper itself.

The Berliner Zeitung article focused on renewed missile attacks on Ukraine, reporting that Moscow had used the Oreshnik system for the first time in months amid heavy strikes on Kyiv and western regions of the country. However, Zhuravlyov’s inflammatory framing went significantly further, using the report to push a narrative of Western vulnerability and military inferiority.

No specific cities were named in his post, nor did he explicitly threaten the UK or any other individual country.

Zhuravlyov, who has previously made aggressive statements about NATO and the West, is known for hawkish rhetoric and has repeatedly warned of direct confrontation between Russia and Western nations.

The comments come as tensions between Russia and NATO remain at their highest level since the Cold War, with fears growing over the risk of escalation as the war in Ukraine drags on.

Western officials have repeatedly dismissed Russian claims about the invincibility of its hypersonic weapons, while NATO maintains it remains fully capable of defending its member states.