UNITED NATIONS, June 29. /TASS/. The policy of Western countries in Ukraine is deliberately provoking a direct clash of nuclear powers, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told the UN Security Council on Thursday.

"Having completely lost the sense of reality in its militaristic haze, the West is deliberately provoking a direct clash between nuclear powers," he said.

"In its militarist frenzy, having lost any connection to reality, the West is knowingly provoking a direct clash among the nuclear powers," he said.

The diplomat went on to say that "the collective West openly declares a goal of dealing a ‘strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield’ and backs up these reckless claims with no less reckless steps."

"All this suggests a metaphor about playing with fire, but things are actually even worse," Nebenzya added.