Russia stands for ruling out the threat of nuclear conflicts despite high risks at the moment and wants to reduce all chances of "artificially" elevating those risks, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a television interview aired late on Monday.

"This is our key position on which we base everything. The risks now are considerable," Lavrov told Russia's state television, based on a transcript provided on the ministry's website.

"I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real, and we must not underestimate it."

As in any circumstance where armed forces are used, everything will end with a treaty, but the parameters of the treaty will be determined by the stage of the military operations when the treaty becomes a reality, Lavrov added.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he regarded Russia's warnings as a sign of weakness. 

"Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a 'real' danger of WWIII," Kuleba wrote on Twitter after Lavrov's interview. "This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine."

(With input from agencies)