General Staff Chief, Army General Nikolay Makarov said that local armed conflicts along the perimeter of Russia's borders may occur more often after the collapse of the USSR. They could even grow into large-scale war using nuclear weapons under certain circumstances, Interfax said.
"The local armed conflicts may occur on the border," he said addressing the Russian Public Chamber on Thursday.
"I do not rule out that local and regional armed conflicts may escalate into large-scale war, including the use of nuclear weapons under certain circumstances," he said.