Deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said that Russia will have to carry out a preemptive strike if Ukraine were to receive nuclear weapons. According to TASS, Medvedev told reporters on Friday during his visit to Vietnam:
“There are some irreversible rules of war. If it comes to [deliveries of] nuclear weapons [to Ukraine], a preemptive strike will have to be carried out.”
Commenting on the expanding list of weapons and military equipment that NATO countries are sending to Ukraine, Medvedev said it was quite possible that the Kiev government “receives warplanes” and “maybe even nuclear weapons.” Medvedev then stated, “but it will mean that a missile with a nuclear warhead will come flying to them,” according to TASS.
Medvedev also commented on his views concerning the duration of the conflict, saying: “This conflict will last for a very long time. For decades, probably. This is a new reality,” He continued: “Everything always ends in negotiations, and this is inevitable, but as long as these people are in power, the situation for Russia will not change in terms of negotiations.”
“The United States operates largely within the field of its pragmatic interests. They do not wage a war, they are making money instead. They are trying to eliminate their centuries-long enemy,” Medvedev said. “As far as Europe is concerned, it is a strange story for me. They keep heating up tensions with their decisions,” Medvedev continued. “Europe has gone mad.”
