Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, currently serving as the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, cautioned that any Ukrainian attacks on missile launch sites within Russia with arms supplied by the United States and its allies could lead to a nuclear response from Moscow.
Medvedev, without revealing specific details or naming individuals involved, claimed that some Ukrainian military commanders were contemplating strikes on Russian missile launch sites using Western-supplied long-range missiles. The official conveyed this message through the Telegram messaging app, emphasizing the gravity of the situation.
“What does this mean? It means only one thing – they risk running into the action of paragraph 19 of the fundamentals of Russia’s state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence,” Medvedev stated in his message.
Paragraph nineteen of Russia’s 2020 nuclear doctrine outlines conditions under which the Russian president might consider deploying nuclear weapons, particularly in response to an attack involving nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction. Medvedev specifically highlighted point “g” of paragraph nineteen, which pertains to a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack, especially when the very existence of the state is perceived to be under threat.
While Russian President Vladimir Putin holds the ultimate authority over Russia’s extensive nuclear arsenal, Medvedev’s warning is seen as indicative of a hawkish stance within the Kremlin, framing the ongoing conflict with Ukraine as an existential struggle against the West.
Critics of the Kremlin have previously dismissed similar nuclear threats from Medvedev as attempts to gain attention or deter Western support for Ukraine. The United States and its allies have pledged nearly $250 billion in military and other assistance to Kyiv.
The specter of nuclear escalation has loomed over the conflict since Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in February 2022. In 2022, the United States expressed concerns to Moscow about potential Russian nuclear escalation. Both Russia and the United States possess vast nuclear arsenals, with Putin controlling 5,889 nuclear warheads and U.S. President Joe Biden overseeing about 5,244 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Medvedev, once seen as a liberal modernizer during his presidency from 2008-2012, has now positioned himself as one of the Kremlin’s staunchest anti-Western hawks, reflecting the evolving dynamics in Russia’s geopolitical landscape.
