CNN
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Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, warned Thursday that Russia’s defeat in Ukraine could lead to a nuclear conflict.
The former Russian president made the threat in a Telegram post ahead of an important meeting of NATO allies and other countries in Germany.
“The loss of a nuclear-armed state in a conventional war could trigger the outbreak of nuclear war,” Medvedev wrote. “Nuclear states will not be defeated in a major conflict that will determine their fate.
“This should be obvious to everyone, even Western politicians who retain at least some trace of intelligence.”
Medvedev, who was president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, struck a belligerent tone during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly raising the specter of a nuclear conflict.
Last April he warned of Russia’s nuclear expansion if Sweden and Finland joined NATO, and in September strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend Russia’s annexed territories from Ukraine. said there is.
His remarks on Thursday were undoubtedly meant to intimidate NATO partners, but a senior Russian official warned that the Kremlin could potentially lose in Ukraine as Moscow’s sluggish invasion approaches the 11-month mark. It seems to be an unusual act of acknowledging the possibility.
The nuclear rhetoric comes days after the Russian government said it planned to build up its military for what the West said was a “proxy war” being waged in Ukraine.
Putin has made similar comments in recent months, saying in December that the conflict “will take some time” and warning of the “growing” threat of nuclear war.
of US warned Russia earlier Oppose the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, through both direct private communications and public channels, including at the United Nations General Assembly last year.
On Friday, NATO’s Defense Liaison Group for Ukraine will meet in Germany for a meeting at the US Ramstein Air Base hosted by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, which will focus on further military aid to Ukraine.
The Pentagon on Thursday unveiled a $2.5 billion Ukraine security package that will see the United States and its European allies increasingly sophisticated, including long-range missiles that would allow Ukraine to strike targets 200 miles away. debating whether to send the stolen weapons to Kyiv.
Britain, Poland, Finland and the Baltics have all called on NATO members to provide Kyiv with heavier equipment in what they see as a critical inflection point in the war. Both Ukraine and Russia appear to be gearing up for new attacks, and there are signs that Moscow may be preparing to mobilize additional troops.
However, the United States and Germany are still at odds. German officials have said they will not send Leopard tanks to Ukraine unless the US also sends her M1 Abrams tanks, but the Pentagon has repeatedly said it will not because of the logistical costs of maintaining them. saying.
Western tanks are the most powerful direct-attack weapons ever offered to Ukraine, and if used properly could allow Ukraine to regain territory against Russian forces that had time to dig a defensive line. can.
Other Russian officials also issued warnings ahead of Friday’s talks, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying on Thursday that Western discussions about arms supplies to Ukraine were “very dangerous”. .
It “does not bode well for European security,” he added.