Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, issued a stark warning on Friday, stating that Russia's readiness to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine should not be underestimated.
He cautioned that Kyiv's international supporters, including the U.S., would be making a "fatal mistake" if they dismissed this threat.
Medvedev's ominous comments came in response to reports that Western nations have authorized Ukraine to use their supplied weapons to target locations within Russia. "The current military conflict with the West is developing according to the worst possible scenario," Medvedev posted on Telegram.
He further stated, "Russia regards all long-range weapons used by Ukraine as already being directly controlled by servicemen from NATO countries." According to Medvedev, this does not represent "military assistance" to Ukraine, but rather active "participation in a war against us."
Medvedev warned that such actions "could well become a casus belli," a term used to describe an act that provokes war. He continued to assert that NATO countries controlling Ukraines long-range weapons or deploying troops to support Kyiv would be seen as a "serious escalation of the conflict."
He forewarned, "Ukraine and its NATO allies will receive a response of such destructive force that the Alliance itself simply will not be able to resist being drawn into the conflict."
Medvedev also criticized "retired NATO farts" who believe that Russia would never deploy a tactical nuclear weapon. He reminded them of their previous "miscalculation" when they assumed that Russia "would not enter into an open military conflict" with Ukraine.
He suggested that a similar misjudgment could be occurring regarding Russia's willingness to use a tactical nuclear weapon, stating that such an error "would be a fatal mistake."
Medvedev referred to Putin's threats earlier this week amid reports that European nations would permit Kyiv to attack Russian territory with their supplied weapons, saying, "After all, as the President of Russia rightly noted, European countries have a very high population density."
He also hinted at the "potential" for Russia to retaliate against hostile countries with strategic weapons. "This is, alas, neither intimidation nor bluffing," he declared.
Medvedev concluded by noting the escalating firepower of NATO weapons being used, stating, "Therefore, nobody today can rule out the conflicts transition to its final stage."
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