Russia warned on Tuesday that new sanctions and the use of force against North Korea's regime would be a path to catastrophe

I think the headline is butchered to shit. I mean, it could be interpreted as Russia not wanting sanctions or use of force against North Korea. 'They warned that sanctions could lead to a bad outcome', that kind of thing.

As for the quote you linked, I take it as, if sanctions and military escalation lead to war, there would be a nuclear threat, not Russia, but North Korea.

"Sanctions do not produce results. That is why the mechanism of political regulation of the Korean Peninsula's nuclear problem is important. This means intolerance toward new provocations from Pyongyang, but also toward a military escalation by the US and its allies in the region," the deputy foreign minister said.

They're clearly hinting that US and South Korea should avoid military escalation, and the joint exercises are happening during this latest missile launch.

Russia and China have offered a road map involving the "double freezing" of both North Korea's nuclear and missile tests, and US military activities in the area, Ryabkov said.

Instead of US and South Korea doing their thing, they should instead let China and Russia handle it.