Medvedev threatens nuclear attacks on Western capitals if NATO troops arrive

• Dmitry Medvedev is at it again, threatening Western leaders with nuclear attacks if they cross a border.
• Medvedev says no leaders in Washington, Paris and London could “hide” if they sent troops to Ukraine.
• The former Russian president regularly makes bombastic threats against the West.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday threatened nuclear strikes against Western leaders who want to send their troops to Ukraine, doubling down on his increasingly hostile rhetoric toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“The chorus of irresponsible bastards from the Western elites calling for their troops to be sent to the non-existent country is growing,” Medvedev said wrote in a message on social media.

He pointed to leaders and politicians in the US, Britain, France, the Baltics and Poland who floated the idea of ​​sending troops to Kiev.

Medvedev said that any deployment of NATO troops was essentially a direct war effort and that Russia did not have to respond “within Ukraine’s borders.”

“In this case, none of them will be able to hide on Capitol Hill, in the Elysee Palace or at 10 Downing Street. It will be a global catastrophe,” Medvedev added.

The former president, who held office from 2008 to 2012, cited retaliation as the reason Russia recently began exercises on the “use of non-strategic nuclear weapons.”

Russia announced on Monday tactical nuclear weapons exercises near Ukraine that it said were being carried out in response to recent “threats” from the West.

Strategic nuclear weapons are usually launched using intercontinental ballistic missiles. The type mentioned by Medvedev tends to deliver lower yields – although these can still have devastating consequences – and can be launched by various means such as shorter-range missiles or even trucks.

Russia is threatening nuclear war to position itself against countries that support Ukraine and has repeatedly indicated that non-strategic nuclear weapons may be used if certain red lines set by Moscow are crossed.

Western nations “must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory,” Russian leader Vladimir Putin said in March.

But such threats have also been viewed as bluffs by Western leaders, who say the Kremlin hopes to deter Ukraine’s allies.

Meanwhile, NATO continues to supply Ukraine with weapons, defense equipment and other aid worth around $168 billion. Last month, the U.S. approved a $61 billion package for Kiev, which Ukraine says is crucial to maintaining its defensive positions against Russian advances.

As for Medvedev, the former president has been vocal in favor of war since Russia invaded Ukraine. On social media, he regularly calls for extreme measures in response to perceived Western grievances, such as a hypersonic missile attack on The Hague after an arrest warrant was issued against Putin there.

In April he said a “maximum bounty” should be placed on every NATO soldier sent to Ukraine.

NATO has said it does not station its own troops in Ukraine and has no serious plans to do so, although some alliance leaders say they might be open to such a possibility.

French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, has repeatedly stated that he would not rule out sending troops to support Kiev. Medvedev often responds directly to Macron, insulting him on social media in English, Russian and French.

Russian politics experts previously told Business Insider’s Sinead Baker that Medvedev’s hostile rhetoric could be an attempt to impress Putin.

“Medvedev is like one of the weaker guys in Tony Soprano’s circles who just has to do terrible things to appease the boss,” said Edward Lucas, senior adviser at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

Medvedev is now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.