Putin Ally Issues New Nuclear Warning: 'Irreversible Consequences'

Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued a new nuclear response warning on Saturday stating that it would be a decision with "irreversible consequences."

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, tensions between North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries and the Kremlin have continued as NATO leaders have increasingly warned that direct conflict with Moscow is a realistic danger. This comes after Putin and senior Russian officials have repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation against Kyiv and its Western partners since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In a Saturday Telegram post, Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and former Russian president, spoke about a nuclear response and that it is a "hugely complex decision with irreversible consequences," but warned that "you can only test someone's patience for so long."

"Yet, Russia has been patient. It is obvious that a nuclear response is a hugely complex decision with irreversible consequences. What arrogant Anglo-Saxon dimwits fail to admit, though, is that you can only test someone's patience for so long," Medvedev said.

He added: "It will turn out in the end that certain moderate Western analysts were right when they warned: 'True, the Russians are not likely to use this response, although...it's still a possibility. Besides, they may use new delivery vehicles with conventional payloads.' And then—it's over. A giant blot of molten-grey mass in the place where 'the mother of Russian cities' [historical name of Kiev] once stood. Holy s***, it's impossible, but it happened..."

This comes as the United States and other Western countries have been providing Ukraine with military aid to defend itself against Russia. Earlier this year, the U.S. began supplying Ukraine with longer-range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles.

Ukraine has pressed hard for the U.S. and the United Kingdom to drop their prohibition on American ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to be used to target Russian territory, amid concerns that their use would escalate the conflict.

Kyiv says it needs the long-range weapons to target air bases used by Russia's warplanes that launch glide bombs against Ukraine often from deep inside Russian territory. Storm Shadow missiles with a range of around 150 miles have been used against Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory only.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House and the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.

When asked if Washington would drop the restrictions, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that his administration was "working that out now."

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that "most likely, of course, all these decisions have already been made," by the West regarding dropping the prohibition on long-range weapons, the state news agency Tass reported.

"This can be assumed with a high degree of probability," Peskov told Russian media. "At the moment, the media is simply conducting such an information campaign to formalize the decision that has already been made."

If Ukraine were given permission to use weapons for strikes deep into Russia, Peskov said that Moscow would come up with "an appropriate response," although he added "there is no need to expect some kind of response everywhere."

This is not the first Medvedev has warned of a nuclear response as he previously made headlines throughout the war in Ukraine for regular social media rants that have ranged from calls for nuclear strikes on NATO members to suggestions that Moscow has no choice but to eliminate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Responding to a previous inquiry from Newsweek, the U.S. Department of State dismissed the seriousness of Medvedev's various statements.

"We know by now not to take Medvedev seriously," a department spokesperson wrote. "This is standard Kremlin nonsense."

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