Medvedev warns Ukraine of potential nuclear response
Moscow could use nuclear weapons if its missile launch sites are attacked, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned. Currently deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, Medvedev made the comments in response to calls in Ukraine to target such facilities inside Russia.
Writing on his Telegram channel on Thursday, Medvedev, stated that “some thick-headed warmongers from Banderostan [Ukraine]” have suggested that the best method to fight Russia is to destroy its launch sites with long-range missiles supplied by the West.
The only consequence of such actions, according to Medvedev, would be the triggering of a nuclear response. He explained that Russian military doctrine allows it to deploy tactical nuclear weapons against a country that puts Russian statehood at risk, even through the use of conventional arms.
“This is not a right to self-defense, but a direct and obvious basis for us to use our nuclear weapons against such a state,” Medvedev wrote. He further warned that “all the heirs of Hitler, Mussolini, Petain and others in today’s Europe who support the Nazis in Kiev should remember this.”
The former Russian president did not specify whose comments he was reacting to. However, earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat stated that Kiev does not have the resources to shoot down the thousands of S-300 missiles being stored in Russian warehouses, and that could be fired at Ukraine.
Speaking on national TV, Ignat suggested that the “best method” to defend against such attacks is to destroy missile launchers located on Russian territory. In order to accomplish this, the official stated that Kiev would need to use high-precision weapons.
