So, it seems the Russian leader may have delegated much, though not all, of the threat-making to Medvedev, who rages on social media – a ventriloquy act – while Putin tries to maintain a relatively statesmanlike countenance. He has repeatedly warned, for instance, that Russia could use nuclear weapons. When Putin warned last year that Moscow might take such a step, the statement garnered a stern warning from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the one friend he cannot afford to lose. The scare tactics against London are by no means Medvedev’s most outrageous. Is he seeking to gain Putin’s favor with his rants? Or is he speaking for the Russian president?ĭmitry Medvedev during a press conference while on a visit to France in June, 2019. For those on the receiving end of Medvedev’s invective – in Ukraine and the West – the question is how seriously to take his threats. He’s like the fictional figure who appears out of nowhere, stares ahead with a blank face and slowly runs his finger across his throat: a none-too-subtle message from the boss. And Medvedev has emerged as the man who makes over-the-top threats for the regime. In case there was any doubt that Medvedev’s words amounted to a threat, the Russian state-controlled outlet RT, which tries to pass itself as a legitimate news organization, reported that Medvedev had “ issued a warning” to London.įor years, the behavior of the Russian authorities has looked more like the work of a mafia organization than that of a normal state. Medvedev, who has a lengthy record of outlandish pronouncements, was responding to a comment by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who said Ukraine has “ the right to project force beyond its borders” as part of its self-defense. Cleverly said he was referring to military targets in a broader sense, but his remarks came just after drone attacks were launched inside Russia. Ukraine has denied any direct involvement.
Writing on Twitter, Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, attacked the United Kingdom as Russia’s “eternal enemy” and accused it of leading an “undeclared war” against Russia. He announced menacingly that “any of its public officials…can be considered as a legitimate military target” by Moscow.
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