Top Putin ally Medvedev escalates nuclear rhetoric ahead of NATO meeting
Max Thornberry
Video Embed
A top Vladimir Putin ally turned up the rhetoric on the threat of Russia responding to a loss in Ukraine with a nuclear strike.
Former President Dmitry Medvedev again raised the prospect of Russia responding to threats to its survival as a nation with nuclear power, Reuters reported.
RUSSIA PREPARING MAJOR NEW OFFENSIVE IN COMING MONTHS: REPORT
“The defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war,” Medvedev said in a post on Telegram. “Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends.”
Medvedev’s bold language, coming a day before NATO members convene in Germany to discuss Western support for Ukraine, doesn’t appear to be supported by Kremlin officials.
The statement “absolutely does not mean” that Russia is escalating its posture, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
While more forceful than past statements, Medvedev’s remarks were in line with Russia’s historical position that it has the right to respond with nuclear firepower if the existence of the state is at risk.