# Senior Russian officer says Israel could cease to exist after Middle East conflict

https://mins.news/en/item/25617

- TASS, 2026-08-19 01:02 UTC
- World
- Original: https://tass.com/politics/2174897

> Lieutenant General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of Russia’s Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces, told TASS that the Middle East conflict could lead to Israel’s disappearance. He said the war would escalate and accused Israel of seeking to draw the United States and the entire NATO bloc into the fighting, ultimately overestimating its strength and ceasing to exist as a state.