A leading ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is not bluffing about using tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine and warned the conflict could spread to other countries.
Dmitry Medvedev, vice president of the Security Council of Russia, made the comments after President Biden has quietly authorized kyiv to launch U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets just across the Russian border supporting an offensive against the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
“This is, alas, neither intimidation nor bluff,” Medvedev said Friday, speaking about the possibility of using strategic nuclear weapons, according to Reuters.
UKRAINE SEEKS TO STRIKE RUSSIAN TARGETS WITH WESTERN WEAPONS, ZELENSKYY SAYS
Dmitry Medvedev, a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), says Russia is not bluffing over the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine and has warned that the conflict could spread further afield. ‘other countries. President Biden, on the left, has quietly authorized kyiv to launch U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets just across the border. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
Russia has used assembly points just across the border to enable its attacks on Ukraine and Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use US weapons to retaliate against Russian forces that strike them or preparing to hit them. Germany also supported this approach.
The White House says this policy is limited and prohibits the use of military tactical missile systems (ATACMS) or long-range strikes in Russia.
In March, the United States quietly delivered long-range ATACMS to Ukraine for the first time – which the Ukrainians have since deployed against Russian military forces in Ukraine.
Medvedev said Friday that “Russia considers that all long-range weapons used by Ukraine are already directly controlled by the militaries of NATO countries.”
“This is not military assistance, it is participation in a war against us. And such actions may well become a casus belli (an act that provokes a war),” Medvedev said on Friday, according to Reuters.
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, said continued Western support from Ukraine could lead to an escalation of the 27-month-old large-scale invasion.
“The current military conflict with the West is evolving according to the worst possible scenario. There is a constant escalation regarding the firepower of the NATO weapons used. Therefore, no one can rule out the transition today of the conflict towards its final phase,” Medvedev said.
kyiv’S FORCES ARE AGAINST CONCERTED RUSSIAN PUSH IN EASTERN UKRAINE, MILITARY OFFICIAL SAYS
Dmitry Medvedev, vice president of the Russian Security Council, speaks during an interview with Russian media at a residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. (Sputnik/Ekaterina Shtukina/Piscine via REUTERS)
The comments come as exhausted Ukrainian troops are losing ground in the war — and just weeks after the United States agreed to send additional troops. $60 billion in aid to war-torn country. In the Kharkiv border region, Ukraine suffered a Russian attack this month that strained kyiv’s undermanned and undermanned forces.
The White House says Russia’s progress has stalled and that Russia will not be able to capture Kharkiv.
Russia has advanced only a few miles and its forces are under relentless barrage from the Ukrainians and suffering at extraordinary cost, the White House told Fox News.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that it was it’s just a matter of time before Ukraine used Western weapons to strike Russian territory.
The developments and threats of escalation came just weeks after Gen. Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said NATO military trainers would eventually be sent to Ukraine, according to a report in the New York Times.
Ukrainian officials have asked their U.S. and NATO counterparts to help train 150,000 new recruits closer to the front line for faster deployment, the report said.
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital at the time that deploying military trainers lead to wider war in the region.
Medvedev’s comments on Friday are not the first time he has taken a tough stance against the West. In January, he warned the UNITED KINGDOM that putting troops on the ground in Ukraine would amount to a declaration of war against Russia.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, before their meeting in Kyiv on May 14, 2024. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In January, he also raised the prospect of nuclear war, warning NATO allies that a defeat for Russia in Ukraine could cause nuclear war.
“The loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can cause the start of a nuclear war,” he said in a message on Telegram.
“The nuclear powers have (never) lost the major conflicts on which their fate depends,” added the Kremlin official.
Jennifer Griffin of Fox News, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
