Sergei Chemezov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says the United States and its Western allies risk triggering a global war if Washington continues to ¡°provoke¡± the conflict in Ukraine and allow Kyiv to attack Russian territory.

His remarks offer a rare insight into thinking in Putin¡¯s inner circle following a surprise Ukrainian incursion into Russia¡¯s Kursk region, to which the president has promised a ¡°worthy¡± response but has not yet said what that will entail.

Chemezov, CEO of the Rostec corporation which supplies many of Russia¡¯s arms for the war, said Russia felt confident and had enough weapons more than two years into what the Kremlin calls its special military operation (SVO) in Ukraine.