US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said failure to help Ukraine secure its own future could lead to “a world of tyranny and disorder” during a speech on Saturday in which he sought to highlight the stakes of the war for the international community, Reuters reports.

Lloyd AustinPhoto: Vano Shlamov / AFP / Profimedia

Austin’s remarks, made at a security forum in Canada, are among his strongest statements yet on Russia’s nearly nine-month-old invasion of Ukraine.

He also warned about the risks of global proliferation of nuclear weapons.

“Putin’s autocrat friends are watching closely. And they may well conclude that obtaining nuclear weapons will give them their own “license to hunt.” And that could lead to a dangerous spiral of nuclear proliferation,” said Lloyd Austin.

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