Russia’s former president and deputy chief of its security council has warned of a nuclear strike against major Western capitals, including Washington.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the deputy head of the Russian Security Council that controls Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, has threatened a nuclear strike against Washington if the United States and its allies act to force Russia to give up its territorial gains in Ukraine.
Mr. Medvedev has threatened a nuclear strike on several occasions amid the war in Ukraine, most recently in the summer of 2023 when the much-vaunted Ukrainian counter-offensive loomed large—before it ultimately failed to take back territory that Russia annexed and now calls its own.
Now, as Russian top brass believes another Ukrainian counter-offensive may be in the works, Mr. Medvedev has issued a new nuclear warning. While its contours are basically the same as prior warnings, it seems to be the first time that Mr. Medvedev has threatened the use of nuclear weapons if Ukraine and its western backers try to force Moscow to relinquish control of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions that the Kremlin says are part of Russia.
“Attempts to return Russia to the borders of 1991 will lead to only one thing,” Mr. Medvedev wrote in a Sunday post on Telegram. “Towards a global war with Western countries using the entire strategic arsenal of our state.”
The reference to “borders of 1991” means Russia without the four regions it wrested from Ukraine amid the war. Russia has the largest number of nuclear warheads of any country, according to the Arms Control Association, which puts the figure at 5,889.
Mr. Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed his threat with a target list: “Kyiv, Berlin, London, and Washington,” as well as “all other beautiful historical sites, which have long been included in our nuclear triad’s attack goals.”
He insisted that Russia’s leadership would not hesitate to make “difficult decisions” about using nuclear weapons if Ukraine and its Western allies try to push Kremlin forces out of territories that Moscow considers to be an integral part of Russia.
“Will we have enough guts for this if a 1,000-old country, our great homeland, is on the verge of extinction, and the sacrifices made by the Russian people over the centuries are in vain?” Mr. Medvedev asked.
“The answer is obvious,” he added.
By Tom Ozimek
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