Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused the West of waging a “full-scale war” against Russia and declared Moscow should respond with pre-emptive strikes on Western nations, in his latest escalatory rhetoric amid mounting pressure from Washington.
“What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war, sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarisation of Europe,” Medvedev said in comments carried by TASS state news agency on Thursday. “It’s another attempt to destroy the ‘historical anomaly’ hated by the West – Russia, our country.”
The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council added: “We need to act accordingly, to respond in full. And if necessary, launch pre-emptive strikes.” He accused many in the West of having “treachery in their blood” and a “sick, very outdated view of their own superiority.
Medvedev’s fiery tirade comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced he was “very unhappy” with Vladimir Putin and would slap “100 per cent tariffs” on Russia if a ceasefire in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days. The threat includes secondary sanctions on Moscow’s trading partners.
We’re very, very unhappy with them, and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 per cent,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office on Monday. “I’m disappointed in President Putin. I thought we would’ve had a deal two months ago.”
The US president also threatened to levy secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian exports, which would discourage countries like China, India and Turkey from keeping funds flowing into the Kremlin’s war chest. Such a move would constitute a dramatic escalation of Western efforts to isolate Russia economically.
Medvedev, who cast himself as a liberal moderniser during his presidency from 2008-2012, has emerged as one of the Kremlin’s most hawkish voices since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He now routinely spouts virulent anti-Western rhetoric and has accused the US, UK and Western European nations of trying to undermine Moscow for centuries.
However, the former president roundly rejected Western claims that Russia could attack NATO members as “complete rubbish”, noting that Putin had repeatedly dismissed such assertions. “The statements of Western politicians on this topic are complete nonsense,” Medvedev said. “This nonsense is being deliberately thrown into the information space in order to destabilise an already difficult situation.”
This is another flank of the West’s open war against us,” he added, characterising Western military support for Ukraine – including satellite intelligence and missile launches – as direct participation in the conflict.
Trump’s frustration with Moscow has been building as Russia continues to launch massive drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. During his meeting with Rutte, Trump revealed that the US and European allies had struck a deal to transfer sophisticated weapons systems, including Patriot air defence missiles, to Ukraine.
“We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending [Ukraine] weapons and [Europe] is going to be paying for them,” Trump stated. “We – the United States – will not be having any payment made. We’re not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they’re going to pay for it.”
The arrangement marks a shift in Trump’s approach after the Pentagon had initially paused some weapons shipments to Ukraine earlier this month. Rutte suggested that Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the UK, Netherlands and Canada all wanted to participate in rearming Ukraine.
In response to Trump’s ultimatum, leading Russian propagandist Igor Korotchenko urged Moscow to use the 50-day period to win the war by destroying Ukraine. Weakening the potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ rear support system will force Ukraine to accept Russia’s terms,” the military analyst told state television.
“It is necessary to intensify Russian strikes… to the maximum extent possible. Scaling up this approach, we can achieve success,” Korotchenko added.
Medvedev on Tuesday brushed off Trump’s threats as a “theatrical ultimatum”, writing on social media: “The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needed time to analyse Trump’s “very serious” statements.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas welcomed the weapons announcement but noted some confusion about credit: “If we pay for these weapons, it’s our support. So it’s European support, and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine. If you promise to give the weapons, but say that somebody else is going to pay for it, it’s not really given by you, is it?”
The escalating rhetoric from both Moscow and Washington comes as the war approaches its fourth year with no end in sight. Russia’s economy remains heavily dependent on energy exports, with fossil fuels still comprising 55 per cent of export revenues despite Western sanctions.
While direct US-Russia trade has plummeted to just $3 billion annually – representing only 0.7 per cent of Russia’s total exports – secondary sanctions targeting major buyers like China and India could deal a significant blow to Moscow’s war economy.
Diplomats say Medvedev’s increasingly belligerent statements provide insight into thinking among hawkish elements of Russia’s political elite. His transformation from reformist president to anti-Western firebrand reflects the Kremlin’s hardening stance as international pressure mounts.
With Trump’s 50-day deadline looming and Medvedev threatening pre-emptive strikes, the risk of further escalation appears to be growing. The coming weeks will test whether economic pressure can succeed where diplomacy has thus far failed in bringing an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two.
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Image Credit:
Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, 17 July 2012 – Photo by Kremlin.ru, licensed under CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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