A Russian loss in Ukraine would be fatal for the rest of the world. That’s what Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former president, thinks.
On the Russian messaging service Telegram, he writes that “Russia’s collapse” would have more serious consequences than ever before.
“Trying to return Russia to the borders of 1991 will only lead to one thing. A world war against the West with the entire strategic arsenal of our state”.
“Give it all back before it’s too late”
1991 is when Ukraine was recognized as an independent nation. The areas that were subsequently occupied must remain Russian, otherwise cities such as London, Berlin, Washington DC and Kiev risk becoming targets for Russia, according to Medvedev.
“All other beautiful historical places that have long been part of our nuclear triad’s flight targets,” he writes and continues:
“So it’s just as well to give back everything before it’s too late. Otherwise, we will take it back ourselves with maximum losses to the enemy. Just like Avdijika”.
Lieutenant Colonel Joakim Paasikivi says that despite Medvedev’s role within the Russian Security Council, his real purpose is unclear.
– It seems to be his role to be the one making bizarre nuclear threats. He has done that throughout the full scale war and before that as well.
“Every nuclear deployment risks being met by something similar”
He points out that Vladimir Putin only mentions nuclear weapons on “occasional occasions” – usually in contexts such as the West threatening them. But Medvedev’s rhetoric can be most closely compared to what we have seen from North Korea and to some extent China, according to Paasikivi.
– Already early after the invasion, he threatened that if Ukraine tried to do something about Crimea, it would lead to terrible consequences, which was interpreted as nuclear war.
How seriously should Medvedev’s threat be taken?
– It cannot be ignored that Russia has nuclear weapons. But at the same time, they seem to ignore that the West also has it. This means that every nuclear weapon operation risks being met by something similar. In that case, there would be some kind of suicide pact in the Kremlin, and I think that makes the whole thing very unlikely, says Joakim Paasikivi.