Throughout the Ukraine conflict, Russia has had ample reason to use nuclear weapons, but has so far exercised restraint, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said. He warned, however, that Moscow’s patience is not limitless, suggesting that Russia could respond harshly if Western nations allow Kiev to use the missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
Kiev has been demanding that these limitations be lifted since at least May. Several media outlets have recently alleged that Washington and London will soon do so, or secretly have already.
In a post on his Telegram channel on Saturday, Medvedev wrote that Western leaders have lulled themselves into a false sense of security, thinking that Moscow is bluffing when it warns of dire consequences for allowing long-range missile strikes. The official, who was also the Russian president from 2008 to 2012, said Russia is fully aware that conducting a nuclear strike would be a momentous decision.
“It is precisely because of this that a decision to use nuclear weapons… has not been made so far,” Medvedev stressed. He added that the “formal prerequisites for this, which are understandable to the entire global community and that are stipulated by our nuclear containment doctrine, are in place.” He cited the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk Region as one example.
“Russia is showing patience,” he said, while warning that “there is always a limit to patience.”
Medvedev went on to suggest that Russia could also respond to Western escalation with some sort of new weaponry – not necessarily nuclear, but still devastating.
Speaking on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin argued that the Ukrainian military is not capable of operating Western long-range systems on its own, but needs intelligence from NATO satellites and Western military personnel. For this reason, if the West allows Kiev to hit targets deep inside Russia, “this will mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries are fighting against Russia,” Putin said.